The Development of Cognition in the Interaction of Conscious and Unconscious Minds

Abstract

This article extends the brief description of cognition previously offered in the adaptational theory of consciousness (ATC). Here I suggest how unconscious and conscious minds interact to achieve mutual cognitive development. Interactions occur in an extended moment of subjective time consisting of perceptual, associational, and affective scenes. During the extended moment, the conscious self becomes time-agile, shuttling between the past, present, and future in order to assemble ideas within global awareness that produce pleasure. The products of its cognitive journeys are saved as synaptic modifications by the unconscious mind's mnemonic functions. As this occurs, instincts and the conscious self's implementation of cultural values are brought into better alignment.