Rachel Bishop said:My point is, consciousness doesn't "become"—it simply IS... an eternal, infinite oneness...
Alright, so I'll go first then?
By looking back at the deep history of Earth and even Space itself through verified scientific methods, we have reached the conclusion that nothing in Space just pops into existence out of thin air. For complex structures to emerge, you need vast stretches of time during which adaptation and modification can occur.
This is most obvious in living beings, which emerged as the long-term evolutionary product of chemical and physical processes. Space is structured by its own physical laws to allow for this kind of behavior; in fact, one could argue that in such a chemical and physical environment, this behavior is almost always the case—it's just that due to other various factors, only a negligible percentage actually completes its evolutionary journey.
This is, briefly stated, a depiction of the evolutionary development of Space, driven by the physical and chemical laws established at the very birth of the universe:
1. The first second of the creation of Space—the universe was a white-hot sphere of infinite density and temperature expanding at speeds exceeding the speed of light.
2. After some time, the first elementary particles and atoms form; the structure of Space is a glowing, hot gas.
3. This hot gas expands non-homogeneously for reasons still unknown, causing denser regions to pull in surrounding matter and themselves into increasingly dense structures under the influence of gravity.
4. Clumps of hot gas in rotation form disks—future galaxies—where gas is further distributed into smaller fragments—future stars—forming the proto-disk of our future Sun.
5. Our Sun is formed, and the remnants of the surrounding gas from the disk aggregate again into planets—Earth is born.
6. Heavy chemical elements formed in the high temperatures of the proto-disk allow for cooling and a solid structure for our planet; over billions of years, water condenses through chemical processes and an atmosphere is created.
7. Over the following millions of years, various combinations of increasingly complex molecules form within the elemental oceanic soup—finally, several billion years ago, organic molecules are born.
8. Through the next millions of years, organic molecules evolve to the point where their chemical construction serves as a coded trigger for creating themselves (duplication) from the surrounding chemical material.
9. Molecules advance so much that the chemical code begins building additional organic structures—single-celled organisms emerge.
10. Over millions of years, complex multi-celled organisms develop, and through further evolution, highly sophisticated living beings emerge, where individual cells specialize in specific purposes and act as a mechanism capable of reproducing and adapting to the environment.
11. All kinds of animals and plants emerge, and through further evolution, highly advanced complex beings arise—hominid apes.
12. Due to the extreme complexity of functioning and the mingling of millions of electrical nerve impulses in the brain, some of them begin to perceive their own existence—FIRST CONSCIOUSNESS EMERGES—man is born.
13. Man evolves, and through a capability no other being or thing possesses, creates his own world and strives to comprehend the Space around him.
14. Thus, Space perceives Space; it becomes aware of itself through us.
It is a process, not something that has always existed. The reason it is a process is because Space is structured in such a way that the world exists of its own accord; likely, Space would not function the way it does now if it weren't.
OK, I was being generous and presented my arguments ready for discussion before you, even though the initial demand for arguments came from me... YOUR TURN!
