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Guess I need to go back to the start:
"Was consciousness a good evolutionary step?"
1. Consciousness - the quality of state of being aware, especially of something within oneself. The state or fact of being conscious of an external object, state, or fact.
2. Evolution(ary) - a process of change in a certain direction. A process of continuous change from a lower, simpler, or worse to a higher more complex, or better state.
Are we good so far?
Now, I need you to define "good" for me. I know what you meant, in the obvious sense - however, I need you to clarify. The rationale is this: In the context of your question, 'good' could imply 'better than before' and/or a relative term used to describe marked progression towards a predetermined goal.
*assumption* The question is related only to humans.
Let's assume you intended the first meaning of 'good', that is - 'better than before'. Then your qustion becomes: "Has consciousness made humans better than before?" In which case, the answer is Yes. By the definition of evolution, we have 'evolved' from a lower to higher state.
It occurs to me though, that you are seeking a much deeper answer than this. Your question in its original form suggests to me that you believe that consciousness may be to blame for all things 'not good' that humans are or do. Is that the case?
*Assuming* it is, the question then becomes "Would humans be better off without consciousness."
Do we agree so far? I'll stop here, so that we can maintain some clarity in direction.
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My life's work is to bridge the gap between that which is perceived by the mind and that which is quantifiable by words and numbers.
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