Consciousness can be understood as an interpersonally-oriented perception of situations, where the mind of a social speciman instinctively focuses on agents or personas within any given context. Even inanimate or non-conscious aspects of reality are often personified – perceived as adversaries, allies, or caring lovers, dialing our sense of threat, belonging, or safety.

Through consciousness, situations are interpreted primarily via the motives, intentions, and relationships between perceived agents. The mind seeks out coherence, tension, conflict, or harmony among these agents, constantly mapping social dynamics onto every scenario. This orientation drives us to look for alignment or discord between the intentions of different actors, including ourselves.

Emotions emerge as the embodied resonance of these perceptions. Evolutionarily, emotions can be seen as mechanisms that shortcut the path from situational perception to rapid action. By “summarizing” complex social dynamics into bodily felt states, emotions facilitate quick, adaptive responses to the environment whether that means approaching, avoiding, defending, or affiliating.

In essence, consciousness interprets the world through the lens of social agency, and emotions evolved as efficient signals that translate these interpretations into a potential for swift, decisive actions.

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WIP subtitle: socially-oriented perspective/focal