DAVID: It is possible to have a single universal consciousness from which we draw our individual consciousnesses but are independent in our free will of action and thought. Process theology is not an unreasonable theory. > > dhw: Agreed. Here's another not unreasonable theory: It is possible to have zillions of individual consciousnesses acting independently or in cooperation with one another, without their being a single consciousness that created them and preprogrammed them to fulfil its anthropocentric purpose.-Still raises the same question for me: we can't even explain the presence of our consciousness and now you want it to pop up all over the place in all living matter!?