levels of analysis

In the last philosophy of mind seminar Radu was contrasting the way that consciousness seems to 'fix' or 'crystallize' time, while the physical substrate of the mind was always in a flux. I suggested that another 'layer' might be interposed between the 'physical' and the 'mental' - namely the 'biological' which consists not in a continuous physical flux of matter and energy, but of enduring networks and patterns - such as memory traces in neural networks in the brain - which raise the issue as to what temporal extents can we be conscious of. Could we be 'conscious' - in the sense of aware/sentient of, a pattern that extends over several hours or days, or even years? It strikes me that this 'temporal' aspect of consciousness seems very important, and I'm grateful to Radu for picking it up on the radar of his course. This idea of a 'functional' level of analysis - a level appropriate to living things - was one that Radu seemed in agreement with. Traditionally mind is often contrasted with 'matter' in a way that neglects the biological level which is neither 'mind', nor 'matter' - where matter is understood in physical, mechanical terms.