The Enigma of Mind: A Theory of Evolution and Conscious Experience

Abstract

Focusing on human capacity to design, the volume's final chapter draws attention to the fascinating role imagination can play in human life. The relationship between human consciousness and the evolution of the species continues to captivate and puzzle scholars. By revisiting the dialogue between consciousness and evolution, the authors demonstrate how enigmas often necessitate dynamic collaboration between sciences, arts, and humanities. Archaeology provides evidence that the drive for diverse conscious experiences is no new phenomenon, while neuroscience illuminates the ways in which altered states of consciousness can enhance the variety of mental experience. Art, design, and cognitive technologies can build on this picture by providing innovative ways of exploring conscious experience. Inspired by insights from a range of academic disciplines and reflecting on personal experience, this chapter proposes the role of ‘harmony’ as another enigmatic angle of research with potential to shed further light on the functioning both of human society and of the human mind.