Introduction

For years, philosophers and researchers have tried to propose a reasonable explanation or ‎fitting description of the phenomenon known as Human Consciousness. All were met with ‎the same problem: This thing that is so subjectively clear and obvious to us as individuals ‎becomes ever so elusive when we try to explain it to ourselves or others. In the same ‎manner, it was found that flavors or sensations we experience and are conscious of are ‎apparent to us – until we try to explain to ourselves how precisely they are coherent to us. ‎Even after thousands of years spent wondering, researching, and theorizing, many pressing ‎questions remain without a satisfactory explanation. We are still unclear about what ‎encompasses the word ‘consciousness’ and how it differs from awareness. We are unsure if ‎consciousness truly exists; perhaps it is merely an illusion generated by the electrochemical ‎processes in our sentient bodies. How does it develop? Where does it reside? In the brain or ‎throughout the body? Perhaps outside of it altogether? Can we exist without it? If we revoke ‎consciousness from human beings, will the latter still possess the sensations and experiences ‎that make up the self? What are subjectivity and objectivity? Can manufactured machines ‎develop consciousness? How are consciousness and cognition linked? What reciprocal ‎relations take place between human consciousness and the world around it? How do ‎consciousness and language development relate? The questions are numerous, far beyond ‎the scope of this book.‎
The answers to some of these questions, at least to some degree, will be written and go on to ‎dictate humankind’s developmental track in much the same way that the answers of different ‎schools, religions, and disciplines to these questions dictated cultural, economic, and ‎religious advantages, as well as conflicts and wars throughout history. Will they continue to ‎dictate the fate of humankind in the future? Is there a hidden pattern according to which ‎humans have discussed these questions over many eons? I hypothesized that if I could ‎identify a scale or taxonomy used by the consciousness to research its origin, nature, and ‎being, I might be able to extrapolate its next evolutionary stage. If I could shed some light on ‎how far we have come in comprehending it, I could suggest how we should traverse the path ‎with optimal efficiency for the human race.‎
In the first part of this book, I will present a systemic categorization of different theories of ‎consciousness, which evolved in different disciplines throughout history ever since humans ‎began documenting our thoughts about it. My goal with this review is threefold: first, to lay ‎out the leading theories for those who may not be versed in the subject so that they can ‎appreciate its complexity and impact on their personal and collective lives; second, to derive ‎from these theories how consciousness was perceived and experienced – a notion called ‎Qualia; and third, to reveal a pattern according to which theories of consciousness evolved ‎and improved over the years, showing that humans have reached a point in which a new ‎definition of consciousness and its Qualia is about to blossom within us. ‎
In the first part of this book, I will explain the Qualia of consciousness as derived from ‎consciousness itself, defining which descendant of Homo sapiens we are examining. I ‎assume that those who busied themselves with this issue and wrote down their impressions ‎over the last 6,000 years – ever since humankind began documenting its thoughts – represent ‎a Qualia characteristic of their time. Building upon this idea, I will refer to theories of ‎consciousness from prehistory to modern times as a partial representation of Qualia’s ‎evolution, considering that philosophers have always belonged to a different social strata ‎than the commoners and do not necessarily represent the majority’s experience. I will then ‎share my understanding of the implied nature of the experience of consciousness known ‎today as Qualia.‎
In the second part of this book, I will present the ever-evolving tools of the early 21st  ‎century, designed to measure and assess the existence of consciousness and its state of ‎awakening. The third part will review the theories explaining the journey of consciousness’s ‎development over the years. In the fourth part, I propose an evolutionary scale of human ‎consciousness as its Qualia traversed through the years, dictating our social, economic, ‎technological, and geopolitical standards. I will also offer a timeline of consciousness and its ‎Qualia’s expansion until reaching the brim of the next stage of its awakened state. I will then ‎lay down the methodical framework for the next evolutionary stage of the experience of ‎consciousness – Qualia. ‎
In the fifth part of this book, I will share my insights on the changing nature of Qualia over ‎‎6,000 years, then attempt to approximate the nature of its sentience in its next evolutionary ‎phase. I will present my thesis, which claims that the pattern of stages traversed by Qualia ‎throughout the years points to the next phase of awakening and merging with the objects and ‎tools its consciousness would cleverly create. ‎
Consciousness will emerge from its dark prison for the first time in its evolution, and its ‎Qualia will begin to converse with the objects at the foot of its tower. For the first time, ‎consciousness can see itself inside the turret from the perspective of the things around it. In ‎this manner, consciousness will also turn its tools into a new, conscious kingdom that will ‎evolve until it merges with its creator.‎
In the sixth part of this book, I will share a scientific breakthrough that the new Qualia of ‎consciousness will solidify and augment. I will show how it could lead to technological ‎breakthroughs that some doubt are feasible in the early 21st  century. Finally, in the seventh ‎part, I will propose a new way of generating innovative technologies derived from the next ‎stage of Qualia. I claim that this new Qualia of consciousness will be able to relate to the ‎tools it develops as an independent civilization and begin aspiring for symbiosis. At the ‎same time, this Qualia would continue to develop its unique urban civilization, changing its ‎social, economic, and political values to overcome the challenges inherited from the current ‎consciousness. ‎