Would you say you were fully conscious when you were born? When you were a month old, even a year old? What was your sense of self like back then? What is your earliest memory? Do you have pictures or video of yourself as a baby in places you don't remember? If someone showed you a picture of yourself as an adult, some place you don't remember- wouldn't you be worried? Like- what was going on with your consciousness if you don't remember being in a place you actually were?
It seems to me like, what we understand to be consciousness- our sense of self and our memories grows as the brain does. When we're new born babies, we're more like animals living on instinct. Plus- if anything happens to the brain- eg. Alzeimers, brain damage- it messes with our memories and personality even.
Consciousness (to me) seems to be reliant on how the brain functions. How our brains function come down to what genetics we were blessed or cursed with. Plus, I imagine what we 'feed' our brains. Both in terms of nutrition and health- eg. boxers or rugby players are at risk of concussion and brain damage.
Plus, what we 'feed' them in terms of life experience, knowledge and any trauma we pick up. All that stuff surely shapes what we understand to be as ourselves and, all of that is unique to each individual- surely?
If you were born 100 years ago to different parents (obviously,) in a different country, as a different race and gender, into a different culture and religion- would you still be you? Surely not. You'd still be able to experience life and think about it but, the way you did that would be unique to that person. Every aspect of our experience surely adds to who we think we are.
As for dreams, I don't believe our consciousness goes anywhere. It just lies dormant while we sleep. I'm assuming dreams work on a different level because, we're not exactly self aware to the same degree we are in waking life. (At least, I'm not.) I experience dreams more as stuff that's just happening to me. But, I don't think they're real in the way we understand physical reality. I can fly in my dreams. I can't fly in reality (sadly.)
Put another way- say someone clones you. They are physically the same as you now. But- they won't have had your memories. They don't have your knowledge. All that stuff is the equivalent of software I suppose. All they have is the hardware to be able to live. Will they be exactly like you? No, they'll only look like you and have your physical potential. Would they even know how to walk, feed themselves, go to the toilet, read? Not sure you can clone memories across. What kind of life would they have if they are a grown adult and can't do any of that stuff? I imagine people would tease them.
I suppose it depends on what you think of as consciousness. Is it just a sense of being alive? In which case, who knows if that gets recycled. Although, I don't see why it should. Or, do you mean a sense of self? Surely, that is reliant on whatever body it grows in.
