Pardon the acerbic introduction, but what would happen if everyone in the world were to suddenly die?There is no doubt that human consciousness would disappear, though there is some doubt that some of the things humans are conscious of would not.
Take trees, for example, which populate most of the Earth and can survive without humans caring for them. If everyone in the world disappeared, trees would still exist, even though none of us would have any thoughts about them or do anything that affected them. Trees are a mind-independent reality.
But some people perhaps think human consciousness, subjectivity, experience, etc. are more fundamental than I have wagered. They might say, for instance: "You're thinking about trees right now as you write this, so your ontological speculations about them existing without human consciousness to think about them folds upon itself."
Have I been backed into a corner? I do not believe so, and the reason is this: people die every day. Returning to the topic of trees, there were people who once knew about them who no longer exist and are no longer aware of trees (at least, not in the same fashion that a living person is). Yet I, as an existing person, am aware of trees.
The sum of human consciousness is not a static entity. It fluctuates, as some people are born, continue living, or die. We cannot afford to be Wanderers above the Sea of Fog or Ralph Waldo Emersons in all circumstances. Human individuality is not the most fundamental element of reality, as there are shared or public realities that outlast human individuals.
