Is God Self-Conscious?

Here’s my theological riff on the Barber of Seville Paradox, itself a riff on Russell’s Paradox:

The God of Seville perceives only those things which are not otherwise perceived. Does the God of Seville perceive Godself? (If yes, then no; if no, then yes.)

Behind this fun logic game is a deeper question:

Do you think God, or the universe—whatever you take to be the highest and most perfect being—is self-conscious?

Hegel and Aristotle both thought so. Absolute Knowledge means Absolute Self-Knowledge. For Aristotle, God is thought thinking itself. God is the ultimate navel-gazer.

On the other hand, self-consciousness can feel a bit neurotic and broody. Peak performers often describe their experience as a “flow state” which is precisely a form of self-forgetting, total unselfconsciousness.

Maybe your perfect God, by definition, would be in an uninterrupted flow-state and thus would have the immersive naïveté of a mountain climber.

So, which state brings us closer to the divine form: reflexive contemplation or immersive self-forgetting? The Greeks might say both. Apollo (reason) calls for the former, Dionysus (intoxication) the latter. But that’s a cop out, because even in paganism one god must win out. Which will you serve?