THE CONSCIOUSNESS Consciousness is amount of awareness a being can have. It is different in different life forms. Non living objects do not have consciousness, plants have least, animals a bit more and humans have the maximum. It is responsible for thinking and understanding.
How is the universe related to us? We feel the universe through our consciousness. In some sense, the universe exists because of our consciousness. The consciousness “generates” the universe, just like code generating a game. You are the player, the universe is the game.
Self Consciousness It the awareness of one’s own self. “I exist” comes under this category. It is a high level of consciousness in a living being. This can be categorized into three categories: Awareness of physical body, awareness of mind, and awareness of the soul. Awareness of soul is the highest form of consciousness a human can have.
Humans and philosophy Self consciousness is the reason why humans progress in life. Without it, we would be like a machine. Humans are advanced in philosophy because of this. Once we are aware of our own self, we ask questions like “What am I?”, “Why do I exist?”, “What is my purpose?” Trying to figure out an answer will lead to progress.