CONSCIOUSNESS (Economy in)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 629 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
G. BATESON observes that “… it is not conceivably possible for any system to be totally conscious” and “… every next step in the approach to total consciousness will involve a great increase in the (brain) circuitry required. It follows that all organisms must be content with rather little consciousness and that if consciousness has any useful functions whatever (which has never be demonstrated but is probably true), then economy in consciousness will be of the first importance. No organism can afford to be conscious of matters which it could deal with at unconscious levels” (1967, p.116).
This is obviously why our brain constructs first physiological, next behavioral and finally mental algorithms.
The necessity for economy in consciousnes has been neatly epitomized by the Argentine writer J.L. BORGES in his fascinating short story “Funes, el memorioso”, in which he recounts the case of a man who recorded the least small details that he observed and became thus totally unable to think and to act.