You are a self-aware being. That’s no great revelation. And while there are many unknowns about self-awareness in need of continued research, it’s ultimately grounded in physics, chemistry and biology. The real mystery is why you have one realisation of self-awareness in one body, not two or more realisations of self-awareness in two or more bodies. What prevents that from happening? What stops you from having more than one self-aware awareness right here and right now? There seems to be a self-awareness limit – one per customer, and that applies to both human and animal.
What stops you having more than one self-aware awareness right here and right now?
THE WHEN OF THINGS: PRESENT, PAST & FUTURE
Presumably no other sexual conception – human or animal* - of the millions and millions that have happened since your own conception has resulted in another and simultaneously coexisting self-aware you.
Presumably, none of the other potential trillions of unfulfilled sexual conceptions that could have happened, but didn’t, since your own conception took place, would have resulted in another and simultaneously coexisting self-aware you.
Presumably therefore, none of the sexual conceptions that happened or had the potential to happen prior to your own conception would have resulted in the self-awareness being you call you. That pretty much rules out reincarnation.
Therefore presumably, no conception that will happen or will have the potential to happen in the future that will result in another self-aware being that the current you would also call you.
Now that says nothing about that one-off unique self-aware you keeping on keeping on post biological death. Afterlife is a separate issue.
THE WHY OF THINGS: NATURAL & SUPERNATURAL
Presumably there is no supernatural force at work preventing two or more simultaneously coexisting self-aware entities both called you by you. The Bible says nothing about there being a limit of one self-awareness body per customer, unless you equate material self-awareness with the nebulous, immaterial and disembodied concept of a soul.
On the other hand, I’m not aware of any natural law, principle or relationship, biological or otherwise, preventing two or more simultaneously coexisting self-aware persons each calling themselves you. You’d think that if a self-aware you could happen naturally once, it could happen naturally twice, especially given the sheer number of sexual conceptions that keep on keeping on, day-in and day-out. Yet, it’s always a case of one per customer – animal or human.
The odd thing is that one per customer applies in two odd, but interesting cases. Your clone would not have your self-awareness but their own separate and apart awareness of self. That’s even more obvious in the case of identical twins – you have one sexual conception; but two beings; two non-coexisting, non-simultaneous self-aware identities.
THE EXCEPTIONS TO THINGS
There are people who are aware of having several selves. We call such people with such neurological or psychological symptoms as having a split or multi-personality. However, all these unique personalities are housed in the same body; the same brain, and therefore are the product of just one conception. Whether or not dual personalities reside in any animal species I know not, but presumably it’s not beyond the realm of biological possibility. However, the issue here is more dual self-aware personalities resulting from dual or not-unique one-off conceptions.
THE WHERE OF THINGS: THE BRAIN
You tend to associate your self-awareness with your head, probably because that’s where most of your sensory apparatus is. You do not associate your self-awareness with your big toe or with your thumb even apart from the fact that you know full well that you could lose those anatomical bits and pieces and retain your awareness of self.
Presumably your self-awareness part of you is housed in your consciousness which along with your subconscious collectively comprise your mind, which is housed in your brain.
Why the brain? Presumably I could, except for the brain, replace any part of you with an artificial equivalent (i.e. – hip joint, dentures, etc.) or a natural transplant from someone else (i.e. – heart, kidney, etc.) and you would still have 100% of your self-awareness.
THE STUFF OF THINGS: MATTER & ENERGY
The brain complex is the ultimate and evolutionary product of raw materials - matter and energy. The brain is just another, albeit incredibly complex, product, a combination of the fundamentals – up and down quarks, electrons, photons and neutrinos.
The elementary components in and of your brain undergo every second by second various chemical reactions and physical processes that require, and in turn, give off energy; take in matter (raw materials) and give off matter (waste products). Part of those reactions and those processes gives rise to what you call your self-awareness.
Self-awareness is dependent on matter and energy. Up and down quarks, electrons, photons and neutrinos and their associated various chemical reactions and physical processes support the existence of awareness of self. The proof of that pudding is that you have no self-awareness when ‘put under’ for a medical operation; when you faint; or even when you are asleep**. When you go to sleep your self-awareness shuts down, tunes out and turns off. All of these altered states of consciousness require altered brain chemistry. The state of your self-awareness can be and is altered by relative states of matter and energy content and processes.
The biggest alteration to the matter and energy component that supports your self-awareness happens at death. And so your awareness of self dies when you die; when your body dies; when your brain dies.
That your brain matter and energy will of course survive your death is not in any doubt (those conservation laws we all learn in high school science class). The specific reactions and processes which require inputs and outputs will not survive. Death negates those. It’s like if your computer receives no inputs, then your computer produces no outputs and your computer for all practical purposes is dead.
CONCLUSION
You and your self-awareness get but one go-round for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, etc., etc. until death makes your self-awareness and you part company.
Further, presumably in our near-infinite to infinite cosmos there exist an extremely vast number of self-aware aliens or extraterrestrials if you prefer. Presumably you have no additional self-awareness of your bug-eyed green monster-ness on the Planet Zork. So not only are you confined to just a self-awareness here on Planet Earth, but confined to just one self-awareness throughout the entire Universe (and maybe beyond if there is a Multiverse).
I’ve appeared to have painted myself into a corner here since there is no logical reason why one should be restricted or confined a singular awareness of self. So, somewhat reluctantly I have to suggest that this can-of-worms is either strong evidence for a one-off, presumably God-given soul and an existence in a supernatural universe, or a one-off Supreme [computer] Programmer-given bar-code and existence in a simulated universe.
*Animals have self-awareness as any pet owner, zoo keeper or livestock farmer knows.
**I’m not convinced you have self-awareness when you are dreaming since you are not self-aware that you are dreaming. Dreaming is just another altered state of consciousness, one that’s separate and apart from your wide-awake conscious self-awareness.