Mapping Human Consciousness Gregg Henriques, Ph.D. Director,
C-I Doctoral Program James Madison University [email protected]
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Overview of Presentation I.Worldviews and Definitions II.The
Justification Hypothesis and the Evolution of Human
Self-Consciousness III.Applying the JH and Mapping Human
Consciousness into Three Domains and Two Filters
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Consciousness and 3 Worldviews Naturalistic Consciousness is an
emergent property of the nervous system and all conscious phenomena
are mediated (flow through) the nervous system. Supernatural There
is a supernatural dimension to reality. Consciousness emerges from
the spirit world of God, angles, etc. In many such views,
consciousness disconnects from the physical world at death and
returns to the spirit world. Mystical/Parapsychological The mental
world can impact the physical world in ways that science has yet to
accept or explain (e.g., Extra- sensory perception, psi
phenomena).
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Although there is some evidence for the parapsychological and
supernatural, most psychologists believe that the evidence is not
nearly strong enough to justify a radical shift in worldview.
Psychological science generally adopts a naturalistic view.
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Clarifying Our Definitions Behavior (a) Nervous System and
Brain The Mind Consciousness Experiential Consciousness Human
Self-Consciousness
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Behavior (a) Behavior (a) refers to the overt actions of an
animal. It can be defined as the observable changes between the
animal and the environment that are initiated from the animal
(i.e., the energy for the action comes from the animal).
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The Nervous System The nervous system is the collection of
neural cells that transmit messages and coordinate animal behavior
(a).
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The Brain The brain is the centralized collection of cells that
processes incoming signals and sends out messages to the peripheral
nervous system, which controls the muscles.
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What, then, is the Mind? The Cognitive Revolution in the 1950s
and 60s answered this question by claiming that the Mind is the
Information Instantiated in and Processed by the Nervous
System
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What is the difference between the brain and the mind? To start
answering this question, think of the difference between a physical
book and the story it contains. The physical book has a weight,
depth, temperature. The story, say of Moby Dick, exists in the
information instantiated within the book.
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Neuroscience studies the structure of the neurons and
connections in the brain, whereas psychology focuses on the flow of
information. A Psychological Diagram of the Human Mind Neuroscience
Diagrams of Brain
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If the Mind refers to the information stored and processed by
the brainwhat about consciousness?
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The term consciousness can refer to several different
phenomena, and it is important to be clear of how the term is being
used. 1.Consciousness as arousal, activity and responsiveness to
the environment (As in As he awoke from his slumber, consciousness
slowly returned to him) 2.First Person Mental Experience (As inAre
fish conscious? Yes, I think they feel pleasure and pain). This is
experiential consciousness. 3.Self-Reflective Awareness (As in I am
conscious that I am an introvert, but I wish I were more outgoing).
This is Self- Consciousness WE WILL BE FOCUSED ON MEANINGS TWO AND
THREE
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Experiential consciousness refers to the first person
experience of being... Everything you experience and can ever
experience exists in this space. And you and only you will ever
experience your experience directly. Thomas Nagel wrote a
well-known article on the problem of conscious experience called
What is it like to be a bat?
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Three Broad Domains of Mental Experience
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1. Your sensations and perceptions 2. Motives and urges 3.
Emotions and feelings Note that imagined sequences usually consist
of all of these elements
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Mental experience (somehow) emerges from the integrated flow of
neural information
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But there is a difference between having a mental experience
(i.e., seeing red) and having self-reflective awareness of that
mental experience Here I am seeing red! I like that shade. It
reminds me of apples. Self-Reflective Consciousness is the term
used to describe the capacity to verbally reflect on ones own
mental experience and report on that experience.
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Experiential Consciousness The Mind The Brain The Nested Levels
of Behavior (a), the Body, the Brain, the Mind, and Consciousness
Self- Consciousness Behavior (a) The Body
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Other animals clearly have experiential consciousness. But only
humans seem to have a highly developed capacity for self-reflective
consciousness. What exactly is it and why do we humans have
self-reflective consciousness?
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PART II: The Justification Hypothesis: A Theory of Human
Self-Consciousness and Culture
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The JH posits that humans have an elaborate self-consciousness
system because the evolution of language created the problem of
social justification. In brief, because of language, humans became
the only animal that had to explain why it did what it did. First,
there are actions, motives, and feelings. Then, with language,
self-conscious reason giving must emerge.
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In short, the JH claims that we were shaped by evolution not to
be pure reasoners but instead to be reason givers
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The Justification Hypothesis Employs an Evolutionary Reverse
Engineering Perspective to Account for the Structure and Design of
the Human Self-Consciousness System
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Evolutionary Reverse Engineering Matches Adaptive Problems with
Organic Complexity Example: The shape of the ear coordinates the
flow of sound waves into the ear canal Harvey reverse engineered
the circulatory system and discovered it was designed to transport
blood throughout the body Adaptive problemsOrganic Solutions
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The Justification Hypothesis Connects the Adaptive Problem of
Social Justification with the Design Features of the Human SCS. The
Human SCS is functionally organized so that we can justify our
actions. The Adaptive Problem of Social Justification created by
human language The Functional Design of the Human
Self-Consciousness System as a Reason Giving System
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The Justification Hypothesis Consists of Three Basic Postulates
1)The evolution of language must have created the biologically
adaptive problem of social justification 2)The Human
Self-Consciousness System functions as a Justification System 3)The
JH provides a frame for understanding the rapid evolution of human
culture
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Postulate 1: Human Language Resulted in the Emergence of the
Adaptive Problem of Justification
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The JH Starts with the evolution of language as a given.
Initially, language likely just involved commands and descriptive
information Kill! This required the capacity to process symbolic
language, which according to the JH was important, but not the
final step that led to the big bang. After symbolic processing,
then comes syntax, which opens up the world for questions
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Why are you hanging around her? How he explains his behavior is
a very tricky problem. Imagine Beta is attracted to Alphas mate,
and is spending time with her. Alpha wants to know why As language
increased in complexity, questions must have forced justifications
(i.e., reason giving behavior). Alpha Beta
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Experiential Consciousness The Mind The Brain In short, human
language is a window into the mind. Self- Consciousness Behavior
(a) The Body HUMAN LANGUAGE
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And while there is much we want to freely share, there is much
that we do not. Thus the what, when and how we share our thoughts
is a crucial problem tied to an essential resourcesocial influence.
If this is true, then the self-consciousness system may have been
shaped to construct and share information about the self and the
world in a manner that solves the problem of social justification.
If so, we should see evidence for this
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Postulate 2: The Human Self-Consciousness System as a
Justification System
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The JH Posits that the Human Self-Consciousness System is a
Reason Giving System that evolved as Natures Solution to the
Selection Pressure Created by the Adaptive Problem of Justification
Instead of simply translating his thoughts I hope to separate the
two of you and take her as my mate, he must develop an explanation
that accords with social influence. She is teaching me to plant
seeds Moreover, the listener must now determine the justifiability
of the response
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Note here that the JH is not simply about the evolution of
lying. It is fundamentally about how we explain our behavior to
others AND to ourselves. Before he ever is questioned, Beta must
deal with the possibility of being questioned. Thus, Beta may well
justify to himself that he is hanging around her because she is
teaching him to plant seeds. I am hanging around her because she is
teaching me to plant seeds
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Postulate 2: Evidence for SCS as a Justification System General
and clinical observations Freuds fundamental observation Research
from social and developmental psychology, cognitive science,
personality, and neuroscience Dramatic evidence from split brain
patients.
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When conducting a psychological evaluation on a patient, it
dawned on me that the network of her self- deprecating thoughts
functioned to justify submission and deference. The Development of
the JH
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It then dawned on me that the reasons I selected to explain my
behavior functioned to justify actions in a particular way. I came
to see humans as justifying agents, each attempting to promote
their own individual justification narrative. The Development of
the JH
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Seeing Justifications Everywhere! Unlike all other animals,
humans everywhere ask for and give explanations for their actions
(Brown, 1991). Arguments, debates, moral dictates,
rationalizations, and excuses all involve the process of explaining
why ones claims, thoughts or actions are warranted. These phenomena
are both uniquely human and ubiquitous in human affairs. In
virtually every form of social exchange, from warfare to politics
to family struggles to science, humans are constantly justifying
their behavioral investments to themselves and others.
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Freuds Fundamental Observation Freuds fundamental observation
was that consciousness served as a Justification Filter, inhibiting
unjustifiable impulses and providing socially acceptable rationales
for behaviors that are expressed.
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In literature reviews, I have made the case that the JH was
consistent with research on Cognitive dissonance Attributions and
self-serving biases The organization of self-knowledge Implicit
versus Explicit Attitudes Reason giving and Excuses Reasoning,
especially the advantage in social reasoning (deontic reasoning),
heuristic framing, and research on motivated reasoning Theory of
mind Modern Psychodynamic Models of Defense Mechanisms (e.g., Malan
Triangle) The pragmatics of speech acts The presentation of self in
social interactions The accounts given by actors in justification
of their actions The role of social norms and conformity
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Some Dramatic Evidence from Split Brain Patients
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMLzP1VC
ANo&list=PL7F6425A73967CFA8
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Postulate 3: The JH Provides a Frame for Understanding the
Evolution of Human Culture
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First, the JH offers a new way to define human culture. Culture
with a capital C (i.e., from the lens of the JH) refers to large
scale justification systems that coordinate populations of
people.
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Second, the JH posits that Large Scale Justification Systems
would emerge that coordinated populations of people. Religions are
likely the first Large Scale Justification Systems. Art and
Artifacts Justify Investment and Commitment to the Religious
Justification Narrative.
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Finally, Justification Systems will compete and evolve.
Belief-value networks that effectively coordinate groups with be
maintained or strengthened, incoherent, inaccurate, ineffective
justification systems will die out.
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Part III: Applying the Justification Hypothesis and Mapping
Human Consciousness
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First Key Idea: Language-Based Beliefs and Values are
Functionally Organized into Justification Systems Justifications
are the reasons we use to legitimize actions or claims.
Justification systems are the interlocking networks of specific
justifications that people use to make meaning. It is the story
people develop for how the world works. It is their language-based
version of reality and how they explain what is right and wrong,
what is true and false. Modern human actions are framed, implicitly
or explicitly, by justification systems. Others will require
justifications to legitimize deviation from these frames.
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Second Key Idea: Justification Systems Exist at the Individual
Level and the Societal Level At the individual level, your personal
justifications are consist of your self-concept, explanations for
your choices, and your personal political and religious beliefs,
etc. At the Societal level, religions, laws, and even science are
large scale systems of justification. Politics, for example,
represents the explicit competition between large scale
justification systems. Each leader attempts to justify the
legitimacy of their views and actions.
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Experiential (System 1) Nonverbal Holistic Affective:
Pleasure-Pain Associations Image-based Rapid processing More
resistant to change More embodied Oriented toward action Parallel
and Connectionist Processing Models Habitual Procedural
Rational/Justifying (System2) Verbal Logical/Analytic Self
Conscious appraisal of events Symbolic Slower processing Easier to
change Requires justification via logic and evidence Sequential
Deliberative Declarative Third Key Idea: Suggests Humans Are of Two
Minds
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System 1/ ExperientialSystem System 2/ JustificationSystem
OVERT BEHAVIOR
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The Fourth Key Idea: Justification Hypothesis Suggests Two
Domains of Justification for Adults Explaining ourselves to
ourselves Within the context of self-awareness (private) Explaining
ourselves to others Within the social context (public)
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The Fifth Key Idea: There are two separable Filtering Process
Between the Domains Private Justifying Self Experienti al Self
Public Justifying Self The experiential to private filtering is
called the Freudian Filter The private to public filtering is
called the Rogerian Filter
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The Map of Human Consciousness Three domains, two filters
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The Components of the Tripartite Model THREE DOMAINS The
experiential system The private self-consciousness system The
public self-consciousness system TWO FILTERS The Freudian Filter
(Experiential to Private) The Rogerian Filter (Private to Public
Also, the context of justification, overt action, and the bed of
neurocognitive process
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Experiential System Sensori-feeling states Pleasure and pain
form foundation Perceptional Wholes Basic Drives, Motives (hunger
thirst) Emotionally organized Automatic (seeing is believing) Plays
a coordinating role in action and connects experience to body
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The Private Self-Consciousness System The seat of our
self-reflective awareness Automatic thoughts, narrative stream of
consciousness Our identity, our self concept Our ideology,
morality, worldview Sometimes referred to as Ego Justification
System divides into public and private domains in late childhood,
early adolescence
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The Public Self-Consciousness System What we publicly share and
proclaim ourselves to be Our persona, the image we attempt to
project to others We strive to maintain a justifiable image in the
eyes of important others.
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The Film Liar, Liar Provides an Entertaining Comic Depiction of
the Public-Private Split The nature of private to public filtering
on a continuum Full, accurate disclosure of all relevant
information, including information against ones interest Most info
shared, Elements emphasized and deemphasized for ones interests
Deliberate biasing and omissions of key information Lying,
Conscious Deception with intent to mislead for ones interests
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The Asch Experimentsone example of the power of the private to
public filtering http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRh5qy09nNw The
case of Danputting the domains and the filters together.
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Conclusion Worldviews and definitions are crucial when dealing
with the topic of consciousness. The Justification Hypothesis
provides a new way to understand the evolution of human
self-consciousness and culture The Tripartite Model characterizes
five components of adult human consciousness in a useful,
applicable manner
