O’Shaughnessy on the Stream of Consciousness
Secular Philosophy and the Religious Temperament December 18, 2009 Thomas Nagel
Philosophy does not aim to extend knowledge by discovering new facts about the world but rather to deepen understanding through reflection on familiar experiences, thoughts, concepts, and activities that ordinarily go unnoticed. It finds everyday phenomena like language, perception, value, and truth mysterious and asks how they are possible. This tradition, originating with Plato, seeks to understand what lies beneath the surface of life. Human consciousness, central to all thought and action, is a principal target; while physical and biological science can investigate its physiological conditions, a more basic understanding of consciousness remains a philosophical task that can only be pursued from within.