?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=The+Future+Evolution+of+Consciousness&rft.creator=Stewart%2C+John+E&rft.subject=Developmental+Psychology&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.subject=Evolutionary+Psychology&rft.description=ABSTRACT.++What+potential+exists+for+improvements+in+the+functioning+of+consciousness%3F++The+paper+addresses+this+issue+using+global+workspace+theory.++According+to+this+model%2C+the+prime+function+of+consciousness+is+to+develop+novel+adaptive+responses.++Consciousness+does+this+by+putting+together+new+combinations+of+knowledge%2C+skills+and+other+disparate+resources+that+are+recruited+from+throughout+the+brain.++The+paper%E2%80%99s+search+for+potential+improvements+in+the+functioning+of+consciousness+draws+on+studies+of+the+shift+during+human+development+from+the+use+of+implicit+knowledge+to+the+use+of+explicit+(declarative)+knowledge.++These+studies+show+that+the+ability+of+consciousness+to+adapt+a+particular+domain+improves+significantly+as+the+transition+to+the+use+of+declarative+knowledge+occurs+in+that+domain.++However%2C+this+potential+for+consciousness+to+enhance+adaptability+has+not+yet+been+realised+to+any+extent+in+relation+to+consciousness+itself.++The+paper+assesses+the+potential+for+adaptability+to+be+improved+by+the+conscious+adaptation+of+key+processes+that+constitute+consciousness.++A+number+of+sources+(including+the+practices+of+religious+and+contemplative+traditions)+are+drawn+on+to+investigate+how+this+potential+might+be+realised.&rft.date=2006&rft.type=Other&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F5270%2F1%2FConsciousness-Evolution.pdf&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F5270%2F2%2FConsciousness-Evolution.htm&rft.identifier=++Stewart%2C+John+E++(2006)+The+Future+Evolution+of+Consciousness.+++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F5270%2F