Whither the Self? The Foundation of Consciousness and its Implications for Poetics

Abstract

A model of human consciousness and perceived agency is described, in which the distributed elements underlying unified phenomenological consciousness and its emotional valence, as well as triggered recollections, are recruited, bound, and reinforced by reciprocal connections with the heavily networked claustrum.  Preliminary evidence for this theory, which builds on the work of Crick and Koch, Ramachandran, Smythies, and others, is briefly reviewed, followed by a discussion of the implications this model may have for our understanding of the basis for the potency of poetic devices wielded in the practice of that art.