TFNR - Knowledge and Consciousness
Let us now mention an aspect that is of great importance to me, which concerns fundamental concepts, such as: sense, meaning, utility, value, ethics, development, well-being.
Many wonder if the pursuit of Knowledge, like scientific research, philosophy, and many other precious disciplines, have a sense and a usefulness in a world that still appears full of suffering, hunger, wars, abysmal inequalities... Many wonder if science is not doing more harm than good to humanity, as well as material development, the diffusion of technology, and so on.
I have no certain answers to these observations. What I think is important to recognize and say is that "nothing really has value if it doesn't help improve our lives". "Ours" in a broader sense, humanity, a set of interacting individuals, peoples and nations that populate this planet alongside countless other living species, sharing a common destiny, which at times is filled with light and hope, at times of despondency, fear and despair.
For this reason, to affirm the usefulness, sense, value of Knowledge, in all its forms, I introduce a fundamental concept for me, on which individual destiny and well-being are played, but even more, collective, universal.
This all-important concept is what is called Consciousness. A concept that appears in the religious sphere, but also secular, a concept that has a thousand facets, evanescent, uncertain and nuanced, on whose meaning it is difficult to find true agreement. I will try to briefly outline what I mean by the term "Consciousness" and why it is so important when we talk about science, about Knowledge.
Consciousness has nothing to do with the mind, with thought, much less with reason and intellect, with being rational, nor with being attentive, or self-aware.
Consciousness is not something we can do, that we can possess, that we can give or receive, transfer, buy or sell, it is not objective and objectifiable, it is not a commodity or a service.
Consciousness is a state, a condition, or rather a dynamic process, an awareness, which can fill us, or in its absence, leave us in total darkness.
It is an experience of being, an experience of life, of the connection of the individual being with everything that makes up the world, with other living beings, with the entire universe. It is a non-rational understanding of causality, of the dynamics of life and of reality as a whole.
It is what allows us to feel what is good for us, for our lives, for other people, for other living beings, for the ecosystems in which we are immersed and with which we interact, for the planet. What allows us to understand ourselves as fragments of life, to understand the world, to understand reality, to choose, to act for our well-being, for well-being in general. Well being. Well - being. Good Existence. Good Life.
In a context of Consciousness, Knowledge acquires an immense value. What without Consciousness can represent a great danger, a risk and a step towards destruction, in Consciousness is transformed into an infinite wealth, the door that can bring individuals, peoples, nations closer to greater well-being, in a global, vital, not only material, sense.
The problem of humanity and of this planet is not the lack of Knowledge, it is the lack of Consciousness. Lack of a widespread awareness of the value, of the preciousness of life, of Life, not only of human life in the strict sense. Lack of the sense of interconnection, of the omnipresence and omnipotence of causality, lack of the sense of the Source of everything, lack of a true individual and collective search for the Fundamental Nature of Reality.
Every cell in our body is able to understand the immense value of life, yet our mind is often unable to do so, lost in automatic processes, uncontrollable emotions and wild thoughts.
Knowledge imposes discipline, responsibility, and this discipline is called Consciousness.
Links to the tables of contents of TFNR Paper
