What is consciousness for?
Open accessAbstract
The answer to the title question is, in a word, volition. Our hypothesis is that the ultimate adaptive function of consciousness is to make volitional movement possible. All conscious processes exist to subserve that ultimate function. Thus, we believe that all conscious organisms possess at least some volitional capability. Consciousness makes volitional attention possible; volitional attention, in turn, makes volitional movement possible. There is, as far as we know, no valid theoretical argument or convincing empirical evidence that consciousness itself has any direct causal efficacy other than volition. Consciousness, via volitional action, increases the likelihood that an organism will direct its attention, and ultimately its movements, to whatever is most important for its survival and reproduction.
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The modular/constitutive model accords with Pierson and Trout's identification of volitional control of action as the core function of consciousness.
“This accords with Pierson and Trout (2017), who identify volitional control of action as the core function of consciousness [similarly, the flexible response mechanism of Earl (2014)]”
From The function(s) of consciousness revisited: insights from a modular/constitutive model using vision as a test case (2026) · cites this paper as Pierson and Trout (2017)
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- Authors
- Pierson, L. M., & Trout, M.
- Corresponding author
- Pierson, Lee M.
- Venue
- New Ideas in Psychology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-12
- Volume
- 47
- Pages
- 62-71
- ISSN
- 0732-118X (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W43166369
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 6 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 2.85
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- New Ideas in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- CogPrints (University of Southampton) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Free Will and Agency
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
- Keywords
- volition, voluntary movement, attention, survival and reproduction
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