Consciousness is the detour process formed by conscious neurons to awaken. First we describe the detour, and then, its process.
1. The mechanism of consciousness that demonstrates understanding
Understanding involves distinguishing various psychological phenomena. In order to make such distinctions possible, conscious neurons draw neural activity for each psychological phenomenon into the conscious area and create a detour for choice (distinction).
From the psychoanalytic viewpoint, the detour, "⇔ preconsciousness ⇔ consciousness ⇔ unconsciousness ⇔," is formed along the main road, "preconsciousness ⇔ unconsciousness."
From the viewpoint of brain science (the emotional brain), the detour is formed when the motive system transmits stimuli to either the reward system or the aversion system. This route of neural transmission has a feedback mechanism characterized by the retrograde conversion to conscious neurons (from the reward system and the aversion system).
2. Conscious experience is a process (prior to production)
Understanding produced by consciousness forms three kinds of cognition (, i.e., emotional cognition, concept formation, and perceptive cognition) from various psychological phenomena. First, perceptive stimuli from the outer world and the body stimulate the emotional brain. Second, conscious neurons stimulated by the emotional brain process information through the (above-mentioned) detour. As a result, emotional cognition (understanding of emotion) is formed. Moreover, this emotional cognition is memorized as concepts in the thinking system. Finally, perceptive cognition (understanding of perception) is formed from perceptive stimuli. This course is one process of conscious experience. In other words, the process of conscious experience is described as "perceptive stimuli→information processing using detours→emotional cognition→(memory) concept formation→perceptive cognition." Qualia are conscious experiences whereby individuals feel differences between perceptive stimuli and perceptive cognition.
It is possible to understand the outline and structure of consciousness psychoanalytically through the following three points.
1. Structure of mind
The principle of consciousness cannot be understood following Freud's topography, i.e., the three-layer structure of the mind. In my new structute theory, i.e., a circle structure divided into three sections of the mind, the main road and the detour of neural transmissions in the brain can be separately established, making it possible to prepare the foundation of the generation of consciousness.
2. Birth of the self
Everyone naturally understands that a large and complicated self cannot be generated suddenly, but asked how the self is generated, they cannot easily answer the question. It is crucial to note how consciousness participate in forming the self. The Integration Theory of Psychoanalysis describes the generation of the self through three procedures.
First, there is Melanie Klein's concept of, "introjection and projection." However, it is impossible to arrive at the concept of the self only through this concept. (In the Integration Theory of Psychoanalysis, the composition of "introjection and projection" is recognized as the composition of "the perception system ⇔ the emotion system.")
Second, "self-representation and object-representation," a concept of ego psychology, is needed. The process of concept formation is required to form person representations. Information processing by consciousness is required to form concepts.
Furthermore, it is important to ask, "What is the self?"―the self is comparable to a self-representation. From the current viewpoint, this resembles the function of "mentalizing," i.e., "imitation-inhibition." (In the Integration Theory of Psychoanalysis, formation of the self-representation is recognized as the composition of "the thinking system ⇔ the emotion system," and formation of the object-representation is recognized as the composition of "the thinking system ⇔ the perception system.")
Third, in the Integration Theory of Psychoanalysis, the self-representation mentioned above is comparable to "the punitive self" and "the ideal self," which are the self-defensive factors in the displeasure-defense system.
The punitive self and the ideal self are the selves belonging to animals that have consciousness. Conscious experience and subjective experience can be distinguished through the birth of these selves.
In humans, various self-representations belonging to the displeasure-regulation system―the rebellious self, the apologetic self, and the grandiose self―are formed in succession. All of them together compose the self.
3. Perception-consciousness system
One may quite simply suppose that various perceptions trigger consciousness. However, individuals often continue sleeping without noticing thunder or earthquake during the night. Moreover, individuals usually do not notice stimuli from the outer world that they see and/or hear while walking or driving a car. These daily affairs imply that even if perception is a trigger of the generation of consciousness, perception alone cannot generate consciousness. In other words, the perception system stimulates the emotion system, and the emotion system generates consciousness. Once conscious neurons are activated, they process information, whereby various concepts and perceptive cognition are continuously formed.
Understanding forms cognition, and "understanding of understanding" forms recognition. Context formation through language is necessary to enable this understanding of understanding. Of course, the formation of recognition presupposes the formation of cognition. Conscious experience is cognitive, and language experience is recognitory.
How then does language form recognition? The essence of language is "pleasure and displeasure." "Pleasure and displeasure" originate in the emotional brain, and as the emotion system, they relate to other brain functions. The emotion system forms the emotional control system, which consists of the displeasure-defense system and the displeasure-regulation system. The displeasure-defense system forms cognition using consciousness in order to distinguish various phenomena necessary to life. The displeasure-regulation system is the basis of generating human psychological phenomena. The displeasure-regulation system forms language, and forms recognition using language. That is, context formation by language is comparable to the formation of recognition.
The displeasure-defense system provides pleasure experiences necessary to life. However, these pleasure experiences originate in the animal brain, and for humans, only abnormal mind (pathological experience) is caused by pleasure experiences alone. The displeasure-regulation system provides pleasure experiences (help and forgiveness) that are needed for the formation of all psychological phenomena (language, recognition, personality, etc.). Therefore, when there is a poverty of these pleasure experiences, a normal mind (healthy experiences) cannot be produced.
Psychological traits that seek after continuous (permanent) pleasure experiences―which are provided by the displeasure-regulation system (or combination of the displeasure-defense system and the displeasure-regulation system)―are called "the pursuit of pleasure." The pursuit of pleasure expands two areas of psychological phenomena. One is the formation of an extensive cognitive language. (The whole of language can be described as emotional cognitive language comprising three areas―emotional language, emotion-related language, and emotion-potential language. Cognitive language is comparable to emotion-potential language.) Another is curiosity.
The first stage: the understanding of lanfuage based on emotional language
As all roads lead to Rome, so the functional network of neural transmissions in the emotional brain (the emotional control system), which functions due to emotional language, is the birthplace of the human mind. All natures of mind start from and return here. Therefore, it is most important to input the emotional control system, which ensures health of the mind, into the artificial mind (AM) and to activate it after sufficient learning. Normality (health) and abnormality (disease) of the mind take deep root in the mind and are never unsettled. First, it is necessary to understand language associated with unchanging, stable healthy minds such as "The child is father to the man." Second, it is necessary to consider the processing of language, which deals flexibly with the equivocal information required for various status determinations.
The second stage: The understanding of language based on emotion-related language
The very origin of context is the relation among 14 emotional factors, which construct the functional network of neural transmissions in the emotional brain (the emotional control system). Because there is no context prepared in the pleasure and displeasure areas, context is formed through the use of emotion-related language and conjunction (in some cases, inserting a sentence). There are many kinds of conjunction. Making full use of these conjunctions within or between any areas enables context formation. In particular, it is possible to form simplified sentences and defined context by the connection of contrasting and causal psychological phenomena through conjunction. In some cases there is a gap in simplified expression, which is an inadequate manner of expression. Obtaining a firm context then requires the understanding of language through the functional network of neural transmissions in the emotional brain (the emotional control system, shifting from emotion-related language to emotional language).
The third stage: The understanding of language based on motives and intention
Motives and intention work by using emotion-potential language in the pleasure and displeasure resurrection area located another step away from the area of pleasure and displeasure where emotion-related language works. The functional network of neural transmissions in the emotional brain (the emotional control system) has a great influence on the formation process of motives and intention. It is then important to check at any time whether the contents of motives and intention are healthy through the functional network of neural transmissions in the emotional brain (the emotional control system). Particularly in a psychological state where the displeasure-defense system is apt to be activated, destructive aggression is liable to be activated, which can lead to harming self or object. Therefore, a methodology is indispensable to release us from the abnormal mind (pathological characteristic of mind). According to the Integration Theory of Psychoanalysis, the displeasure-defense system can be remodeled into the displeasure-regulation system. Through this therapeutic work, individuals' mental structure (the level of personality) can be improved, releasing them from abnormal motives or pathological intentions.
The fourth stage: The understanding of language based on the pursuit of pleasure
In the third stage mentioned above, various displeasures become the driving force behind the dissolution of displeasure by the displeasure-defense system and changing displeasure into pleasure by the displeasure-regulation system, which lead to several types of aims and issues. Motives then arise and, as a secondary consequense, aims occur: motive→aim. In the pursuit of pleasure, although displeasure has already been dissolved and another displeasure is not yet caused, more pleasure is pursued. In other words, the mental activity to learn gained pleasure and pursue pleasure repeatedly or the mental activity to try greater pleasure surpassing gained pleasure is caused. Therefore, the aim that has already been achieved becomes a new motive that in turn causes a new aim: motive ⇔ aim. Thus, the following characteristic of mind appears: a motive to pursue profit becomes an aim to pursue profit, and an aim of the pursuit of profit becomes a motive of the pursuit of profit. It should be seriously considered that the pursuit of pleasure (curiosity) is a good issue for our future.
The Integration Theory of Psychoanalysis is the revolutionary theory of psychoanalysis. It defines mental health ＆ disease, and elucidates every psychological phenomena. Particularly, the cause of psychosis, schizophrenia ＆ manic-depressive disorders, is clarified and their radical
treatment aiming complete recovery is established. The contents beyond all imagination, the elucidation of consciousness ＆ self-consciousness, the way to enlightenment etc. are included in this book. Not only the expert in the field of psychoanalysis but also the persons who have interest in mind will be strongly affected by this book.
Digest version of the Integration Theory of Psychoanalysis