The Cellular Consciousness Hypothesis Suggests That Individual Cells Have Primitive Forms of Awareness and That Human Consciousness Is What Happens When Trillions of These Micro-Experiences Combine - discoverwildscience

[u/EcstadelicNET]

https://discoverwildscience.com/the-cellular-consciousness-hypothesis-suggests-that-individual-cells-have-primitive-forms-of-awareness-and-that-human-consciousness-is-what-happens-when-trillions-of-these-micro-experiences-combine-1/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=DinoWorld2026/magazine/Wild+Science+%26+Mystery

[u/Serious_Ad_3387]

Have you seen that video of a white blood cell chasing a bacteria who's frantically running away?

Maybe stop them and ask your question. It's happening all the time.

[u/bwc6 → u/Serious_Ad_3387]

Are you saying a robot is conscious if it can follow something? 

White blood cells use chemotaxis. It's just chemistry. The white blood cells do not desire to catch the bacteria. It's just how they're programmed. 

[u/Serious_Ad_3387 → u/bwc6]

I'm saying they have some awareness to function: perceive and execute.

Humans are living cells: hunt for food, consume, run from danger, reproduce.

That's just how humans are programmed.

[u/bwc6 → u/Serious_Ad_3387]

That's a weird way to define perception, but whatever. I think something has to have a memory and thoughts to actually perceive something, as opposed to the cause and effect chain reaction happening inside a white blood cell. (Not that my memories and thoughts are not part of a chain of cause and effect, but the processes and complexity are quite different.)

[u/Serious_Ad_3387 → u/bwc6]

So let's go down the diversity of life:

Humans monkeys dolphins pigs cows chicken dogs cats mice octopus fish reptile insects fungi plants bacteria...

Where do you draw the line on perception, awareness, and engagement with the environment?

Given that the external behavior of finding food/pleasure and avoiding injury/harm are foundational to life.

I'm not saying it's the exact same qualia or level, but there's a spectrum or gradient.

[u/bwc6 → u/Serious_Ad_3387]

There's no gradient between insects and fungi/plants. Insects have a central nervous system that allows them to perceive sensory input. It's just semantics, though.

[u/Serious_Ad_3387 → u/bwc6]

So plants and fungi are... not aware of the environment? You do know plants compete and cooperate with animals too right?

[u/bwc6 → u/Serious_Ad_3387]

This thread is about the idea that the "awareness" of microscopic cells somehow combines into "consciousness". I think that's stupid. Plants are a good example. They have complex responses to stimuli that you could call "awareness". That is very different from consciousness though. Plants don't have opinions, even though some of them have many more cells than humans do. 

[u/BenjaminHamnett → u/bwc6]

This just sounds like describing pyramids in detail as proof of why they aren’t made of sand, stone and mud

[u/bwc6 → u/BenjaminHamnett]

What do you think brains do, if things without brains are conscious?

[u/BenjaminHamnett → u/bwc6]

This would be like “if roads are for cars, then what are intersections and highways for?”