The Brain’s Autopilot Mechanism Steers Consciousness
Freud’s notion of a dark, libidinous unconscious is obsolete. A new theory holds that the brain produces a continuous stream of unconscious predictions
By Steve Ayan on December 19, 2018 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-brains-autopilot-mechanism-steers-consciousness/
In Brief (Abridged from the original)
Research on the unconscious mind has shown that the brain makes judgments and decisions quickly and automatically. It continuously makes predictions about future events.
According to the theory of the “predictive mind,” consciousness arises only when the brain’s implicit expectations fail to materialize.
Higher cognitive processing in the cerebral cortex can occur without consciousness. The regions of the brain responsible for the emotions and motives, not the cortex, direct our conscious attention.
The Real Mastermind
Many people stubbornly cling to the old distinction between the instinctive unconscious and rational consciousness, with a preference for the latter. But, as I have shown, this view is untenable. Unconscious processes greatly control our consciousness. Where you direct your attention, what you remember and the ideas you have, what you filter out from the flood of stimuli that bombard you, how you interpret them and what goals you pursue—all these result from automatic processes. Timothy Wilson of the University of Virginia considers this reliance on the unconscious to be the price that we pay for survival as a species. If we were forced always to consider every aspect of the situation around us and had to weigh all our options about what to do, humankind would have died out long ago. The autopilot in our brain—not consciousness—makes us what we are.
The real mastermind that solves problems and ensures our survival, then, is the unconscious. It is understandable that people tend to distrust the unconscious, given that it seems uncontrollable. How are we supposed to be in control of something when we do not even know when and how it influences us? Nevertheless, the arrangement works.
John Bargh of Yale University, who studies priming, compares the human mind to a sailor: To steer a boat from point A to point B, a sailor needs to know the destination and be able to make course corrections. Such abilities are not sufficient, however, because, as is true of the unconscious, uncontrollable factors such as ocean currents and wind come into play. But expert sailors take them into account to arrive at their destination.
We do well to treat our unconscious similarly—by not getting in its way. And that is really what we do day in and day out. When I put a picture of my loved ones on my desk to fuel my motivation for work or when I take the stairs instead of the elevator, I am steering my unconscious mind, recognizing that its desires for leisure and rest do not serve my best interests at the moment. And the fact that I am able to do this shows that the conscious and the unconscious are partners rather than opponents.
This article originally appeared in Gehirn&Geist and has been reproduced with permission. Rights & Permissions More to Explore
Consciousness without a Cerebral Cortex: A Challenge for Neuroscience and Medicine. Bjorn Merker in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Vol. 30, No.1, pages 63–81; February 2007.
Medial Prefrontal Cortex Predicts Internally Driven Strategy Shifts. Nicolas W. Schuck et al. in Neuron, Vol. 86, No. 1, pages 331–340; April 8, 2015.
Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind. Andy Clark. Oxford University Press, 2015.
How and Why Consciousness Arises: Some Considerations from Physics and Physiology. Mark Solms and Karl Friston in Journal of Consciousness Studies, Vol. 25, Nos. 5–6, pages 202–238; May/June 2018.