Are human beings the only conscious beings in the universe?

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Are human beings the only conscious beings in the universe?

by Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

Certainly not!

First of all, the sages discuss that animals also feel pain, based on the Biblical prohibition against causing them undue suffering.

Secondly, there is plenty of account in the Torah of the higher angels, who are conscious of a realm of reality far beyond ours

Thirdly, Maimonides and others write about the heavenly bodies as conscious beings--and not simply in an allegorical sense. If anyone should ask, "How can a ball of helium and hydrogen contain consciousness?" simply ask in return, "And that a warm mass of gray meat has consciousness is reasonable?"

The uniqueness of humankind is not our consciousness, but the way that consciousness is able to enter the realms of good and evil, make decisions and distinguish between them.

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