Аннотация:Scientific research in many disciplines seeks to explain the body’s ability to experience subjective states. In this article, we intend to examine the problem of consciousness on the basis of advances in neurophysiology, cognitive science, anthropology, and philosophy. Particular attention is paid to discussion of the philosophical premises of the concept of the “cognitome,” advocated by K. V. Anokhin. We are in accord with the understanding of the activity of consciousness as the activity of a complex living system which cannot be reduced to the sum of the actions of systems of a lower order. At the same time, we believe that the ability to carry out cognition, or produce “anticipatory reflection,” of the environment should be considered in accordance with the course of natural evolution and cannot be the main system-forming principle. We propose that interference between the activities of the components of the nervous system could provide the basis for increasing the efficiency of a functional system, which is manifest as a unique state of subjective reality and is a prerequisite for the development of the body’s ability to be aware of the world. This theory is consistent with the widely supported theories of consciousness and explains the direct correspondence of the dynamics of higher nervous activity to the state of subjective reality.
