In What is Consciousness? (I) we have considered the formation of i-structures
by circumscription and in "What is Awareness? (I)" the
alternation of perspective as such. But basically, both are one and the same.
Circumscribing
movement – consciousness – is of course an alternation of individual viewpoints.
And perception of an alternation – awareness – also circumscribes a constant
center. The difference between emphasized circumscription and emphasized alternation lies in the
density of the circumscribed central area. If the circumscribing alternation
(for example, between facades) forms an object (a house), the content-dense
center symbolizes its unity ("being inside"). If the alternation is
perceived more as such, the object character is thin ("Are there several
houses or one?").
The maximum
of the unity lies in the intuitive center point, whereas the maximum of the
alternation consists in the alternation itself. That is, the alternation is
authoritative and the circumscription derived. (Without facades no inside.)
Now, however,
the "trace" of the alternation (the sequence of facades) is more or
less curled up in the memory, that is compressed, and the respective awareness
is incompletely conscious of the
entire alternation (say, between three bare walls with corners and a few windows).
The rest (more windows, attic, back wall) leads into the just-not-conscious,
into a narrowing.
Awareness includes a consciousness of this
transition ("closer, to the back"). Yet consciousness is in a sense
the "upper" section of awareness, whereas awareness as such includes
the just-not-conscious "further down" by alternating with it. This is more than a point by point transition
or a coagulated potential. Out of the alternation between the conscious and the
subconscious, the awareness "receives" impressions and ideas, so to
speak, which escape the more static consciousness ("a chamber somewhere").
All in all, consciousness resembles a funnel
whose rand represents the circumscribing (alternation) movement which is compressing
and narrowing itself and transitioning to the just-not-conscious with the
funnel's stem. Only the center point of the whole movement is always remaining
conscious. The awareness, in contrast, is following
the stem to the other side ("to the back, around the corner"), meaning
it is switching to the consciousness there, whose
stem is leading back again.
The difference is not strict: Consciousness is
always awareness! Awareness is also conscious, but points beyond that and involves
always more than what is just now conscious.
Alternation does not allow it to be nearly frozen. With the consciousness we
only try to ignore this, and then its own changeable nature escapes us, the
awareness, from which it "unscrews."
The connection of awareness and consciousness
has also been indicated in Individuality and Reality: By alternating
individual perception, a common approximation
is being constructed, a conscious reality (a rolling pen, a house). Because the
alternation coiling is compressing itself while forming approximations and the
alternating standpoints are "vanishing" in the funnel stem we do not have
an overview of the reality formation. However, since consciousness always creates approximated commonalities
the consciousness funnel is a reality funnel. It creates reality out of the funnel stem by approximating
individualities into one
consciousness, but nowhere by relinquishing
them. Everything remains awareness.
Some aspects may become clear from the following figures as well:
Figure 1: Presented above is the circumscribing compression in the reality funnel. Below is a possible top view of how the alternation of perspective condenses into a seemingly stationary object consciousness.
Figure 2: Here, Figure 1 is summarized and further simplified. This time I emphasized the overall movement of perspective and the resulting spatial object awareness.
