Consciousness is the product of information processing by the thinking subject.

Without thinking subject and thinking activities, it is impossible to produce consciousness.

The thinking subject is a substance that can perform active operations on information (such as collection, transmission, storage, extraction, deletion, comparison, screening, discrimination, arrangement, classification, disguise, transformation, integration, expression, etc.).

Thinking subjects include both animals (such as humans) formed by natural evolution, and there are also artificial intelligence products that are gradually developed and improved.

Information is the phenomenon and representation of things that can be recognized by the thinking subject, and is the operating object of thinking activities.

The consciousness generated by thinking activities is stored, expressed and transmitted in the form of information. The essence of consciousness communication is information communication.

Consciousness often becomes the basis for the thinking subject to carry out the next step of thinking.

The generation of consciousness requires energy, and the existence and spread of consciousness require media (matter). In short, the existence of consciousness is dependent on matter.

The phenomenon of consciousness and its material carrier are often not the same thing.

Leaving aside the factor of carrier, consciousness does not occupy space, while material existence does occupy space. This is the fundamental difference between consciousness and matter.

Since the information may undergo various mutations when the thinking subject obtains and processes information, the content of consciousness may not truly reflect objective things. Consciousness may transcend objective things, or it may be a distorted reflection of objective things.

Extended information: Darwinism believes that human morality originates from animal instincts, among which gregarious behaviors, mutual aid behaviors, and altruistic behaviors directly evolved into human morality.

However, human morality is a conscious and purposeful activity, and the instinctive behaviors of animals are more inherited from genetics. For example, cooperative hunting, caring for young, etc. are necessary for animals to survive and reproduce. Animals with these instincts can

To survive and leave offspring, through generations of natural selection, gregariousness and mutual assistance are firmly written into animal genes.

Animal instinct has neither conscious choice nor evaluation of right and wrong, good and evil, and is fundamentally different from human morality.

Therefore, animals do not have the same moral values ??as humans.