Frankl said to be human is to be conscious and to be responsible, and in effect to be conscious that we are responsible.
What is the meaning of consciousness?
To answer this question I refer to a Jewish book on the subject because it provides an in-depth understanding of consciousness, and because this book states unequivocally that consciousness is something with which all human beings have been endowed.
The book is entitled “Pirkei Kinyan Da’at” by Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe. This is not meant to be a full translation, and interpretation of the text is purely my own.
The word da’at is not easily translatable. The literal translation is “knowing.” From here on we will refer to it simply as consciousness.
In the Talmud tractate Nedarim 41a we learn: [In exile] “‘you will experience a state of loss of everything.’ (Deuteronomy 28:48) – [To explain the nature of this “everything” that will be lost] Rav Nahman says this refers to the loss of consciousness. [and to explain this further] Abaye added, saying that the only true impoverishment is in consciousness.
“In the west [i.e. in Israel in relation to Babylonia] they said: If you have this [i.e. consciousness] you have everything. If you do not have this [consciousness], what do you have? [Rashi explains: “One who has consciousness is like one who has everything, since he is missing nothing.”]
“Furthermore if you have acquired consciousness what are you missing? I[Rashi explains: “One who has acquired consciousness is missing nothing.”] If you do not acquire this what [else] can you acquire?”
In this passage our rabbis teach us two things about what it means to have consciousness.
a) Consciousness is the essential quality of being human. In the absence of consciousness you are impoverished even if you possess much material wealth. With consciousness you are inherently rich even if you have little in the way of material wealth.
b) Consciousness enables you to acquire and possess everything else that you can acquire, whether in spiritual or material possessions.
Thus if consciousness is a necessary quality for acquiring anything else in the world, how can consciousness itself be acquired?
In a way this question makes no sense because consciousness is an intrinsic part of who we are. But we have to acquire it because consciousness is only activated by our effort. Therefore we must actively search and seek it out.
The question then becomes: How can we make the consciousness in us more accessible?
Like any other latent ability we make it accessible through practice. We can make a practice of questioning and not immediately following our emotion-driven and sensation-driven wants. The senses and emotions can have their say but these should not be sitting in the seat of control.
Questioning forces us to ask: “What does this situation require of me?” The answer must necessarily come from consciousness. When you get into the habit of using consciousness to decide, you will become a master at it.
In conclusion, consciousness is a way of life. It is the lifestyle of attentiveness. It means being attentive to what is unique about a given situation and how we are to relate to it.
Thus far is the book’s introduction. I leave it to you to draw the parallels in this and the coming essays between the concept of consciousness on one hand and what Frankl meant by consciousness and also conscience on the other.