The analogy I fall back on is the concept of a wave in a body of water. Where, in the body of water, is the structure that defines the wave? How does a wave arise from a bunch of water molecules?
What we call a "wave" is actually a broadly distributed energy pattern in the water. We just have created a single word for it to help us recognize and talk about that pattern.
Consciousness might be like that--a (very complex) pattern of energy in the matter of the brain. "Consciousness" would refer to a pattern of behaviors, rather than a physical "thing" like a rock or a hand.
What we call a "wave" is actually a broadly distributed energy pattern in the water. We just have created a single word for it to help us recognize and talk about that pattern.
Consciousness might be like that--a (very complex) pattern of energy in the matter of the brain. "Consciousness" would refer to a pattern of behaviors, rather than a physical "thing" like a rock or a hand.