Thought Experiment: Swapping Consciousness

[RMQualtrough]

Just consider momentarily, the idea that every living thing does indeed have its own consciousness, specific to it.

Now imagine I take your consciousness and a bird's consciousness and swap them.

What would happen?

The answer is: Absolutely NOTHING.

The bird's brain has only memories of being a bird, it is programmed to think only bird thoughts and engage in bird behaviour. How would your consciousness know it had ever been a human? The memory of being a human is in the human brain. Every human thought process is located in the human brain. Your personality is in the human brain... These things are gone now, you are now the bird... And you don't even know it had ever been different.

The "dumb bird" is now in your human body and is as intelligent as you. It does not know it has ever been a bird, it does not know bird thoughts or bird behaviours. It literally IS you.

[kinesin]

Good post.  To recognise such a thing indicates you have a pretty good understanding of the nature of being.

That said, no teaching is perfect in its communicability, and I wouldn't be surprised if somebody without such an understanding responded to it with "no way! if I were swapped with a bird, I'd become the bird king and lead all the other birds in battle against the egg industry!"