TY - JOUR

T1 - Communication as the Origin of Consciousness

AU - Федотов, Сергей Александрович

AU - Baidyuk , Ekaterina

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

PY - 2022/4/1

Y1 - 2022/4/1

N2 - Since the middle of the 20th century, more and more data have appeared on the limited role of consciousness in determining human behavior. In this opinion paper, we hypothesize that the basis of consciousness is precisely the communicative function, and discuss relations of consciousness to other cognitive processes such sensory detection, decision-making and emotions. Within the framework of the hypothesis, consciousness is considered as a highly specialized function of the brain, which ensures encoding of personal information as communication messages. On a subjective level, mental representation just means the state of information to be shared in a human group. Accordingly, consciousness affects only those components of human behavior that are associated with the transmission of messages. Sensory detection, decision-making, emotions and other processes are only projected into consciousness during the encoding of information of them. The communication hypothesis assumes that consciousness is an adaptation that increases the efficiency of a collective way of life, and the emergence of consciousness is inextricably linked with the development of language in human culture. In the future, our view of consciousness provides an opportunity for an objective analysis of subjective phenomena by means of a directed study of the formation of messages both at the level of brain processes and at the level of interactions between individuals.

AB - Since the middle of the 20th century, more and more data have appeared on the limited role of consciousness in determining human behavior. In this opinion paper, we hypothesize that the basis of consciousness is precisely the communicative function, and discuss relations of consciousness to other cognitive processes such sensory detection, decision-making and emotions. Within the framework of the hypothesis, consciousness is considered as a highly specialized function of the brain, which ensures encoding of personal information as communication messages. On a subjective level, mental representation just means the state of information to be shared in a human group. Accordingly, consciousness affects only those components of human behavior that are associated with the transmission of messages. Sensory detection, decision-making, emotions and other processes are only projected into consciousness during the encoding of information of them. The communication hypothesis assumes that consciousness is an adaptation that increases the efficiency of a collective way of life, and the emergence of consciousness is inextricably linked with the development of language in human culture. In the future, our view of consciousness provides an opportunity for an objective analysis of subjective phenomena by means of a directed study of the formation of messages both at the level of brain processes and at the level of interactions between individuals.

KW - Decision-making

KW - Human group

KW - Language

KW - Mental images

KW - Self-consciousness

KW - Thinking

KW - SYSTEM

KW - ATTENTION

KW - ACTIVATION

KW - DISORDERS

KW - MECHANISMS

KW - SELF

KW - TIME

KW - PERCEPTION

KW - MEMORY

KW - EXPRESSION

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85127588504&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/227f1346-d6f3-33c7-8d3e-fd8d49bfa1ea/

U2 - 10.1007/s12124-022-09686-4

DO - 10.1007/s12124-022-09686-4

M3 - Article

JO - Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science

JF - Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science

SN - 1932-4502

ER -