If you're willing to entertain the idea that some people don't know they're conscious, it's not that far of a leap to say they actually aren't. You might be int

If you're willing to entertain the idea that some people don't know they're conscious, it's not that far of a leap to say they actually aren't. You might be interested in reading about Julian Jaymes. He put forward a hypothesis that consciousness is a very recent (3000 years or so) phenomenon. This is a rabbit hole I prefer not to go down, because it just seems so absurd and solipist. I agree that there's an almost eerie inability to grasp the idea of what some of us refer to as consciousness. This word has all kinds of linguistic baggage, so it often feels like thinkers talk past each other when talking about it. I hesitate (perhaps refuse?) to read any more into it than that.