Dear Doctor,

My grandson is in the first grade, and he asked me this question. “Grandma, how do I know I am conscious, and what is it?” I don’t ever remember thinking about such things in any grade. How would you respond?

Grandma

You have one smart grandson. He has the DaVinci element for genius and curiosity.

I have asked myself this same question all my life. As a psychologist, I will give you a simple, but very complex answer. Consciousness is being aware of being aware. All the books I have ever read on the subject leave me cold.

The best answer, in my mind, is obviously the gift of consciousness rests in the brain. The “how” is where science is still empty. The explanation I have studied most presents a theory akin to quantum physics. Brain cells are usually cited, but this does not say how it occurs. We are the observer and the observed of our mental life. Particles, more complex than presently understood, are at the heart of who we are. How consciousness occurs we do not presently know.

In being aware, we perceive. We see and hear, but not with the eye and ear. It happens in the brain, where in nanoseconds, molecules of information are integrated and understood. We are aware of selfhood and time. We achieve identity. We have everything from emotion to locomotion happening. We know where our arm or leg is. We love. We are sometimes angry. We learn. We relate and care.

So, to your very bright grandson I would say, “We do not have a clear explanation, but isn’t being conscious fun!” The glory of our species comes from our ability to create. We have law, art, science, architecture, engineering and joy itself. The absolute explanation for consciousness is still elusive, but the respect for our evolution leaves me in continuous awe.