I recently asked AI a question I have no answer to:
Can one consciousness merge with another, as one flame merges with another?
When two flames come together, neither disappears. It simply becomes harder to say where one ends and the other begins.
Could something similar be true of consciousness?
We experience ourselves as a distinct “I”. But we still do not really know what consciousness is, why it arises, or whether it is entirely bound to the form we call a body.
Quantum physics does not give us that answer. At least not yet. But new research into the brain, information and the nature of reality makes the questions increasingly interesting.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle is not physical, though.
Perhaps it is the idea that “I” must always be entirely separate from “you”.
I do not know.
But if I ever write the book with that title, this question will probably get a chapter:
If two flames can become one fire, what do we really know about the boundaries of consciousness?