Given that I am conscious, and I am part of the universe, I conclude that the universe is conscious.
Or, at the very least, the universe cannot be entirely unconscious, since I am part of the universe and I am conscious.
Or, at the very least, the universe cannot be entirely unconscious, since I am part of the universe and I am conscious.
We don't say houses are conscious in the same way human's are. We might say a house is "aware of something" in the same way we say a house is "conscious of something", not to mean exhibiting the mark of the mental but to mean every person contained is aware of a certain thing; but if we're using the concept of consciousness in the way this article is using the concept, not as being aware, but as a mark of the mental, we don't ever apply that to a house because that is nonsensical. We would say "you don't mean the house, you mean the people inside."
The entire starting question seems nonsensical. If we conclude the universe, or a star, is conscious like us we've stretched the concept of consciousness to absurdity or metaphysical wankery.
So, to use your example, a room with a conscious person in it, considered as one whole, is at the very least partially conscious, since the person in it is conscious. Whether the room itself is conscious we don't quite know.
But this leads to the question: does the notion of "partially conscious" make sense?
1. a room and a person in it are separate
2. nothing is separate from the universe
Therefore, there are two things that are not separate from the universe but separate from each other.
Indeed separation is matter of consciousness. If we believe that the universe is more or less a frothing foam of energetic particles, the only thing that differentiates my teeth from my gums and me from the room is my recognition and identification of them. There is matter with or with out me, but there is no room, no tooth, no me without my consciousness.
"Particles" is plural, implying separation. It that, too, a "matter of consciousness"? Sounds a lot like "consciousness" is being used to do a lot of passing of the proverbial buck.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA3NLyQNDBQ
Another way to look at it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEunth9YCgo (You are the Big Bang)
Why does the presence of a person in a room make a difference, as opposed to any other relationship between the two things?
> Or, at the very least, I cannot be entirely indivisible, since cells are part of me and they are dividing.
The point is more that the universe must have the capacity for consciousness within it's inner-workings, much like divisibility must be inherent in any biological system -- more so than "cells" being divisibile -- we're after the notion of divisibility itself.