What the functions of consciousness are depends on what one thinks consciousness is.

The term 'consciousness' is often treated as a single phenomenon, but multiple kinds of consciousness likely exist. A proper theory of consciousness must be multifaceted, and the functions of consciousness depend on which kind is being discussed. This article presents a tripartite taxonomy of human consciousness, examining how each kind relates to pre-conscious cognitive processes and neural underpinnings, how each may have evolved, and what adaptive functions each may have served.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The word ‘consciousness’ is often used as if it is a single thing, and as if everyone knows, in a general sense, what that thing is. The very notion of a theory of consciousness implies that someday this thing will be accounted for. But suppose that multiple kinds of consciousness exist. If so, an adequate theory of consciousness would have to be multifaceted rather than unitary. And, accordingly, an account of the function or functions of consciousness would depend on the kind or kinds of consciousness one is referring to. Herein, I use a tripartite taxonomy of human consciousness and explore the relation of each kind to its underlying pre-conscious cognitive processes and their neural underpinnings. I also consider how each kind of consciousness may have evolved, and what the adaptive functions of each may have been. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Evolutionary functions of consciousness’.