From Subliminality, to the Unconscious Mind: Philosophical Lineages, Evolutionary Paradoxes, and the Future of the Origins of the Unconscious.

The authors argue that subliminal processing—unconscious responses to imperceptible stimuli—cannot be the sole basis for evolutionary skill acquisition, conscious problem-solving, or social engagement. They contend that a purely subliminal unconscious would pose an evolutionary disadvantage, whereas unconscious processes that interact with conscious awareness are necessary for ecological adaptation. The paper discusses how unconscious-and-conscious communication supports implicit and explicit learning, physiological responses, and adaptive evaluation. It concludes by noting the lack of an experimental paradigm to properly investigate subliminality and the interactions between consciousness and the unconscious mind.

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Abstract

In previous works, we provided empirical evidence and the theoretical foundations for a conceptual dissociation between subliminality, such as purported emotional responses to invisible-imperceptible elicitors, and the intelligent workings of the notion of an unconscious mind, such as involuntary and automatic physiological experiences and behavioural patterns that precede but eventually interact with conscious awareness and evaluation. In this manuscript, we address this differentiation from a Theory of Evolution perspective. We show and discuss that a singularly subliminal module of unconscious processing could not have led to phylogenetic and ontogenetic skill acquisition, conscious problem-solving, volitional social engagement, inhibition and affect, and the development of consciously actionable cognitive-behavioural personality traits and characteristics. We argue that unconscious processing in the complete absence of conscious involvement and awareness, meta-awareness, and meta-cognition, would constitute an evolutionary hurdle and limitation. In contrast, we discuss and provide evidence that unconscious responses that occur before but eventually involve and interact with conscious awareness is a necessary condition for ecological adaptation. We highlight that unconscious-and-conscious communication, and interactions can contribute to implicit and explicit skill-acquisition, immediate physiological responses to threatening and social-related elicitors, and the ability to evaluate, appraise, re-appraise and align our experiences and responses to real-life ecological settings and adaptive demands. We conclude our manuscript with a discussion concerning the lack and need thereof of an experimental paradigm with which to, firstly, properly and appropriately explore subliminality, and, secondly, systematically and validly explore the interactions and workings of consciousness and the unconscious mind.