8/12/2019 The Role of Consciousness

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The role of consciousness

One of the long-standing questions about consciousness is whether it really does

anything. Is it merely an epiphenomenon, floating uselessly in our heads like the

heat that rises up from the circuitry of a computer? Most of us intuitively

understand it to be an active thing it helps us to decide what to do and when.

!nd yet, at least some of the scientific work on consciousness has proposed the

opposite, counter-intuitive view that it doesn"t really do anything at all# thatit is the brain"s after-the-fact story to e$plain itself. %e act refle$ively and

then make up a rationalisation.

&here is some evidence for this post-hoc notion. In countless psychology

e$periments, people are secretly manipulated into making certain choices ' picking

green over red, pointing left instead of right. %hen asked why they made the

choice, they confabulate. &hey make up reasons that have nothing to do with the

truth, known only to the e$perimenter, and they e$press great confidence in their

bogus e$planations. It seems, therefore, that at least some of our conscious

choices are rationalisations after the fact. (ut if consciousness is a story we

tell ourselves, why do we need it? %hy are we aware of anything at all? %hy not

)ust be skilful automata, without the overlay of sub)ectivity? *ome philosophersthink we are automata and )ust don"t know it.

&his idea that consciousness has no leverage in the world, that it"s )ust a

rationalisation to make us feel better about ourselves, is terribly bleak. It runs

against most people"s intuitions. *ome people might confuse the attention schema

theory with that nihilistic view. (ut the theory is almost e$actly the opposite.

It is not a theory about the uselessness or non-being of consciousness, but about

its central importance. %hy did an awareness of stuff evolve in the first place?

(ecause it had a practical benefit. &he purpose of the general"s plastic model

army is to help direct the real troops. +ikewise, according to the theory, the

function of awareness is to model one"s own attentional focus and control one"s

behaviour. In this respect, the attention schema theory is in agreement with the

common intuition consciousness plays an active role in guiding our behaviour. It

is not merely an aura that floats uselessly in our heads. It is a part of the

e$ecutive control system.

In fact, the theory suggests that even more crucial and comple$ functions of

consciousness emerged through evolution, and that they are especially well-

developed in humans. &o attribute awareness to oneself, to have that computational

ability, is the first step towards attributing it to others. &hat, in turn, leads

to a remarkable evolutionary transition to social intelligence. %e live embedded

in a matri$ of perceived consciousness. Most people e$perience a world crowded

with other minds, constantly thinking and feeling and choosing. %e intuit what

might be going on inside those other minds. &his allows us to work together it

gives us our culture and meaning, and makes us successful as a species. %e are

not, despite certain appearances, trapped alone inside our own heads.

httpwww.aeonmagaine.combeing-humanhow-consciousness-works

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