Consciousness Always Exists

Part I:

A. No situation exists.
B. Statement A is true.
C. A situation exists in which statement B is true.
D. A situation exists.(1)
E. Consciousness exists.
F. Statement A can never be true.

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I claim that statement F is true.

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Proof:

If A is true, B is true. If B is true, C is true.(2) If C is true, D is true. If D is true, A is false. Therefore, if A is true, A is false! (Contradiction!)

Clearly, A can never be true.(3)

Since A can never be true, it follows that F is true.

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If A is never true, A is always false. A is never true. Therefore, A is always false.

If A is always false, D is always true. A is always false. Therefore, D is always true.

We conclude the following: A situation always exists.(4)

Part II:

Suppose a situation exists. Then the situation must persist for a duration greater than zero seconds. If a situation persists for a duration greater than zero seconds, a phenomenon of temporal passage must occur.(6) If a phenomenon of temporal passage occurs, consciousness must exist.(7) Therefore, if a situation exists, consciousness must exist.

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If statement D is true, E is true. D is true. Therefore, E is true.

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If statement D is always true, E is always true. D is always true. Therefore, E is always true.(8)

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We conclude the following: Consciousness always exists.(9)

Notes:

1. The terms "situation," "scenario," and "state of affairs" are synonymous. (See the following article: Are All Minds Finite?)
2. Suppose statement B is true. Then a situation exists. (The situation that exists is that statement B is true.)
3. It can never be the case that statement A is true.
4. A situation must always exist. (It can never be the case that "no situation exists.")
5. Zero seconds is "no length of time."
6. The word "persist" implies a passage of time. (Persistence is a dynamic process.)
7. The phenomenon of temporal passage (i.e., the phenomenon of time flow) is consciousness-dependent. (I discuss the relationship between time flow and consciousness in my paper "Temporal Passage.")
8. If a situation exists, consciousness exists.
9. Consciousness must always exist. (It can never be the case that "consciousness does not exist.")

Clarification:

The premise "D is true" does not lead to a contradiction. (It does not lead to the conclusion that "D is false.")

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Let us consider the following statement:

S1: If B is true, C is true.(1)

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The premise in statement S1 is "B is true." (Please note that "A is false" is not a premise in S1.)

1. Suppose statement B is true. Then a situation exists. (The situation that exists is that statement B is true.)

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