“A Layered Model of Human Consciousness”

Abstract

The human brain’s structure operates as a systemic whole with an absolute interdependence between its respective parts. Processes, such as information, consciousness, awareness, conscience depict humans’ layered consciousness state, but also the wholeness, coherence and continuity of human cognition. Awareness contains self-awareness, a fundamental metacognitive ability, through which individuals perceive the internal world of thoughts, reflect, imagine, feel emotions and daydream as well as external awareness, through which individuals perceive the outside world with the help of the five senses. Moreover, neuroplasticity and consciousness are bi-directionally connected; consciousness, on the one hand, is the result of the growing complexity of the brain connectivity and, on the other hand, neuroplasticity stems from reorganizing brain connections through learning activities. The conscious brain is in a perpetual state of learning and evolvement; it learns how to describe and re-describe its own functions and illustrates the ancient Greek word “Anthropos” meaning someone looking higher and higher above.