Consciousness of the Cosmos: A Thought Experiment Through Philosophy and Science Fiction

Abstract

I will use both philosophical and Science Fiction thought experiments as they help me to investigate the notion of “consciousness” in relation to the search for an absolute truth and/or good in the world, the doubt of an external world and of phenomena. General questions like, what is being conscious, what is being in the world, or better, what is being conscious in the world, will be narrowed down to the concept of self-consciousness. The awakening through such consciousness will take us to the concept of “absurdity” which I believe will pave the way to the understanding of our “consciousness of the cosmos.” What is the relationship of consciousness with our experiences of the external world? Does our existence make any difference in the universe? If our existence is not necessary for the existence of the world, if the cosmos is indifferent to our existence, is our existence just absurd as Sartre, Camus and Nagel have suggested through different insights? I will investigate these questions through the demonstration of thought experiments coming from both philosophy and science fiction and elaborate on the absurdity of our existence within the cosmos, whether it is our own inner experience regardless of the cosmos or is it the result of our embracement of the cosmos with a specific kind of consciousness. This will inevitably place the wondering about the meaning of life at the core of this investigation. I will conclude that, the absurdity of our existence in the cosmos which arises from the clash between the view from the inside and the view from the outside could be resolved with the embracement of the cosmos with a specific kind of consciousness.