I would suggest that consciousness is a faculty that is independent of thoughts, emotions or sensations. I can think of instances where I was aware of myself in the absence (or at least greatly reduced levels) of thought, emotion or sensations.

Perhaps the question is whether qualia [1] are binary or not. This is a question that is probably impossible to answer because there is nothing else to measure it with. To paraphrase Julian Jaynes, what's more immediate that immediate awareness itself?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia

You have to define “thoughts, emotions, sensations” and “complexity” first.

Pain, for example, counts as all 3, and some would say it’s simple while others might call it complex.

Pain is strictly a physical sensation. It may however be triggered by thoughts or emotions. The three are rarely ever experienced in isolation.

> Pain is strictly a physical sensation.

Hard to tell that to those with lost limbs who suffer from ghost pain.

Do not be fooled by the term "ghost". The pain is still real, and experts now agree it is coming from both the brain and spinal cord [1]. Just like optical illusions, the mind can play many tricks on us. Just because the pain feels like it is coming from a non-existent limb does not mean that that is where it is actually coming from.

1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/phantom-pain/...

> the pain feels like it is coming from a non-existent limb does not mean that that is where it is actually coming from.

So uhh, what exactly is pain? Is it the feeling? Is it the physical damage? Is it a warning about damage? Is it the fear of damage (as in broken hearts etc.)?

I'm not a biologist or anything, but I'd define it simply as a signal from your nervous system to your brain.

So.. a thought? An emotion? Or a sensation?

What does this even mean? If I can feel pain by thinking, what does it mean that pain is "strictly physical"?

If it means "there is a physical set of physical matter involved in the sensation of pain, be it pain nerves or just me thinking using my physical thinking apparatus", well then given that I'm made out of physical matter, what isn't strictly physical?

> If I can feel pain by thinking, what does it mean that pain is "strictly physical"?

It may help to look at it from a cause and effect perspective.

injury -> pain

thinking -> pain

feeling -> pain

thinking -> feeling + pain

pain -> feeling + thinking

...etc

Integrated information theory has one attempt at actually measuring how conscious a system is. It calls it phi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_information_theory Never heard of that before, thanks for the hint.

no problem, the paper is actually not to bad either by the way.

I worked on that in graduate school :)

thats pretty cool, id ask you some questions about it if you didn't mind but im not ready for the moment lol