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Full Idea
We could think, feel, will and remember, and we could also 'act', and yet none of this would have to enter our consciousness. The whole of life would be possible without, as it were, seeing itself in a mirror.
Gist of Idea
All of our normal mental life could be conducted without consciousness
Source
Friedrich Nietzsche (The Gay (Joyful) Science [1882], §354)
Book Ref
Nietzsche,Friedrich: 'The Gay Science', ed/tr. Kaufmann,Walter [Vintage 1974], p.297
A Reaction
He credits Leibniz with this line of thought. Nowadays the unconscious aspects of thought are a commonplace, not just from Freud, but from neuroscience. We have no idea how conscious other animals are. Nietzsche attributes consciousness to communication.
| 17212 | To understand is the absolute virtue of the mind [Spinoza] |
| 20115 | All of our normal mental life could be conducted without consciousness [Nietzsche] |
| 20117 | Only the need for communication has led to consciousness developing [Nietzsche] |
| 7155 | Consciousness exists to the extent that consciousness is useful [Nietzsche] |
| 7143 | Consciousness is a 'tool' - just as the stomach is a tool [Nietzsche] |
| 5809 | Some activities are performed better without consciousness of them [Dretske] |
| 3470 | Conscious creatures seem able to discriminate better [Searle] |
| 4271 | There is consciousness whenever behaviour must be explained in terms of mental activity [Scruton] |
| 2412 | Can we explain behaviour without consciousness? [Chalmers] |
| 4941 | Consciousness can create new axioms, but computers can't do that [Edelman/Tononi] |
| 9780 | Consciousness is a malfunction of evolution [Zizek] |
| 4741 | A very powerful computer might have its operations restricted by the addition of consciousness [Clark,T] |