"Life without prejudice, were it ever to be tried, would soon reveal itself to be a life without principle."
-Richard M. Weaver
Discussion
...and life without any retrospective critical thought would have only prejudice. Prejudice is like the axe that fells the tree which can be made into something useful. But no one ever makes a particularly beautiful chair with just an axe.
Consciousness itself is anchored in the ability to prefer one possible state over another.
The ability to discriminate is fundamental to consciousness.