Consciousness is one of the great unsolved problems/questions of philosophy and cognitive science. For a quick introduction, I would recommend the following: >

Consciousness is one of the great unsolved problems/questions of philosophy and cognitive science. For a quick introduction, I would recommend the following: > 0. My favorite theory of consciousness so far (and perhaps the eureka moment that you're looking for) would be Integrated Information Theory which is a mathematical or perhaps computer science-like approach to consciousness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_information_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_information_theory If you are not familiar with philosophy, it might be confusing to read though. A basic intro to consciousness: 1. Skim section 2 "Concepts of Consciousness" to understand the different levels and definitions of consciousness: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consciousness/#ConCon https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consciousness/#ConCon 2. Read the introduction of this article to understand the concepts of dualism vs materialism: https://iep.utm.edu/consciousness/ https://iep.utm.edu/consciousness/ 3. Skim sections 7 "Theories of Consciousness" and 8 "Metaphysical theories of consciousness" to get a basic understanding of various theories of consciousness: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consciousness/#TheCon https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/consciousness/#TheCon You can read the remainder of the articles as well, but be aware that philosophical writings can be very dense, meandering, and sometimes confusing. A more efficient introductory resource would be Jeffrey Kaplan's excellent lecture series: >> https://youtu.be/wwT4N_v0-WQ?t=57 https://youtu.be/wwT4N_v0-WQ?t=57 Another perspective comes from cognitive science/neuroscience. The Owner's Manual for the Brain is an amazing cognitive science/neuroscience textbook which summarizes a lot of research into perception, memory, emotion: >> https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/18090066-the-owner-s-manual-for-the-brain https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/18090066-the-owner-s-... Hope that you find this to be interesting and useful!