Consciousness as an Evolutionary Filter: Memory, Identity, and Big-Goal Agency
Abstract We propose that consciousness evolved primarily as a filter-and-focus mechanism that compresses and routes overwhelming multi-modal inputs toward survival-relevant, big-goal control. Memory binds these filtered states into identity, and identity enables agency—the capacity to project, plan, and intervene in the world (including via tools). We show how this thesis aligns with elements of Integrated Information Theory (IIT) while contrasting it with rival frameworks—Global Neuronal Workspace (GNW), Recurrent Processing Theory (RPT), and Higher-Order/Perceptual Reality Monitoring (HOT/PRM)—and outline empirical discriminators.
