Now We Are Conscious
In which Pooh, Piglet and Some Friends Discuss the Hard Problem
Pooh and Piglet were strolling through the Hundred Acre Wood one sunny afternoon. Pooh was trying to come up with a suitable Hum or Song, but something about Penny Lane was stuck in his head.
“Pooh?” Said Piglet.
“Yes Piglet?” Said Pooh.
“Is consciousness really emergent from electro-chemical activity in the brain?” Piglet asked.
Pooh thought about this for a while. It was a difficult question for a Bear of Very Little Brain.
Eventually, he said. “I suppose it depends on what you think consciousness is. Am I conscious? Because I don’t have brains, just fluff.”
“We’re conscious because Christopher Robin imagines we are.” Piglet pointed out.
“So our consciousness is an emergent property of Christopher Robins’?” Pooh wondered.
“Probably,” Piglet replied, “but that still leaves the question of where Christoper Robins’ consciousness comes from.”
“His brain, of course!” Said Rabbit, who was passing by. “There’s really no point in wondering or bothering about it. I’m a Real Animal, not stuffed like you two. I have a consciousness of my own, but all it does is go on about Food, Shelter and Reproduction. But I also have a…
