Understanding the Human Consciousnesses: The research of Consciousness in Humanity

The model is presented that conceives of human consciousness as a product of a phylogenetic interaction of three particular forms of animal behavior: play, tool use, and communication. When the three components meet in humans, they strengthen and mutually reinforce each other producing positive feedback loop. Therefore, although all three elements of human consciousness are present in many animal species (not necessarily human predecessors), there is no other species that plays, communicates and uses tools as much as humans do.The suggested three-component structure permits to easily explain most typical features of human conscious awareness: its recursive character, seriality, objectivity, close relation to semantic and episodic memory, etc. Other specific features of human consciousness (e.g., the emotion of anxiety) remain, unfortunately, not discussed due to space limits. Finally, a comparison of the current approach with other theories of consciousness (embodiment theories, simulation theories, common working place) reveals, notwithstanding some similarities, important differences from all of them. Again due to space limits, the complex relationships of this model of consciousness with the multiple draft theory, the re-entrance theory, and the classical dualistic approach must remain outside the present text.