I love the idea of being conscious.  I think most of us do, frankly, because we are in control when we are conscious.  If we fall asleep on the team bus or at our friend's house, what are we going to do to keep other people from messing with us?  If we are left in a vegetative state after an unfortunate accident, who is going to decide whether or not we should continue to live that way?  If we experience especially vivid nightmares, why do we fear going to sleep?  In each of these situations, when we lose consciousness, we lose control.  But as long as we are awake, we can maintain control.  Right?

A recent article in The Economist details a line of research that counters our intuitive notions regarding consciousness.  We are quickly accumulating evidence that consciousness may be a product of our behavior, rather than the determinant of behavior that we always assume it to be.  It turns out that the brain activity that drives a behavior is often well underway before the person ever has the experience of having a conscious thought.  Think about that for a minute.  Suppose you decide to raise your hand in class to answer the teacher's question.  Before you are ever aware of making that decision, your brain has already begun the neural processes necessary to lift your arm.  Your brain is raising your hand before you make the conscious decision to raise your hand.

All of which begs the obvious question of whether or not consciousness exists.  And if it does exist, what exactly is it?  We intuitively feel like consciousness guides and determines our behavior.  We decide to raise our hand in class, so then we do it.  We choose to run from the rabid wolverine, so then we do it.  But do we intuitively feel that way simply because we want to believe that we work this way?  Is it possible that we form our conscious thoughts and decisions around the things that our brain is already doing?  It is seeming more and more likely that "conscious decisions" are simply decisions that our brain made which we then assume responsibility for.  Does that still count as active decision-making?  Do we really want the Twinkie off the shelf at the convenience store, or do we just talk ourselves into wanting it after our brain decides to buy it?  What does it even mean to "want" something in the first place?