I’m not exactly sure what you’re asking (so for this post you’ll have a very good excuse to correct me when it seems I’m not understanding you), but I think I get the general idea of the question.
I won’t get too focused on how you ask the question (although it may come up later)… I won’t start off arguing against “evolved in our brain”, for instance.
However, I do have to check to make sure I understand that when you say “by” you mean “from”/“as a”/“with the”/etc. And that by this you mean the man’s (active) quest (striving) for universal purpose (the perfect ethical system for him–a law of nature and a map on how to get there;to have precise, inarguable codes of conduct–you know, without a shadow of a doubt, how to act–that enable you to exist as a pure extrovert (like every other animal, like all of nature! After all, the rest of nature doesn’t stop and question whether or not it is doing something right! Humans are the only introverts–we are the only one’s that escape into a fantasy third-eye imagination, to strive for such an abstract, nonexistent delusion. We are the one’s that are mistakened, and yet it is us, the slow dim-witted retard of nature who believes he has waked up–that he knows what is important, that he can look inside and question–when, in the most objective view, he is just slowing his reaction. How does this help in terms of current, environment survival? When all is taken away–any dreams, any hopes, any desperate, pathetic grasp for progression, how does man compete with nature? How well can man live when he is faced with life and death?
Man, the clumsy idiot he is, walks around like a lunatic–wearing gowns and dipping their fingers into water–instead of just doing the unargued rules. No introversion, no introspection, no questiong “is this right or wrong?”, it is scan your surroundings, focus attention on what the brain is drawn to, causing your body to react according to the program one’s body has developed (from instincts and memory). There is nothing but the consciousness to details and strengthening your reflexes to speed your reaction times and prepare for the optimal calculation–and instaneous–solution of any given situation. That is nature.
But in that case… not only are you not able to question the rules, you can’t resist or even think about resisting it! You act with absolutely no control.
Man’s first ideas of a god, for instance (anything metaphysical was simple described as belonging to that other category–the not seeable world), came through as another voice that told him how to act. This came about through altered states of consciousness–ranging from deep breathing, use of plants, the fight-or-flight response or sexual lust. There is a noitcable shift in how one’s body works in this situation. It is a unique event, so stimulating to one’s senses that they have their own memories–test anxiety, when someone gets very nevous during a test and can’t remember what they knew beforehand, is due to having memorized the questions in a calm state of mind and then having to recall them in an anxious one. The body (the funtioning of the body during a kind of emotion, the way everything is working to fit the action the brain calls for) the brain memorizes information within the overall consciousness of a particular moment–the memory is part of an entire physical schema.
Another state of mind was always seen as communication from another–it was not something they had seen before, it was completely new in their world.
But your question is whether or not it is possible our consciousness evolved as a result of this, right?
According to how I define “evolve” man is always evolving, everything is always evolving, at every moment. Time itself is a change.
I think by “evolve” you mean the specific evolutionary process from primitive man to what we are today?
If that is the case, of course. And with language use and cultural customs the explanation, or story, of how the universe came to be, how nature is–and then–the answer on now how to act (and reconnect with that superego voice that tells you what to do). The very first division is the “consciousness” between Me and It–the self and the other. Man versus nature (this is what being banished from eden refers to–man ate from the tree of the fruit of the knowledge between “good” and “evil” (how I think I should be (a part of) versus what I shouldn’t. Man marveled at what was around him–they were no longer merely unnamed details that caused unconsidered bodily reaction, they were looking at strangers–other beings that it would encounter, other souls that communicated with him. As man’s ability to predict the environment–fitness–grew, his memory, ability to abstract and plan, memorize a language and produce words (the main part of the brain for these tasks is the left frontal lobe) made his insights into what was happening more and more complex, detailed, abstract.
Shamans, medicine men, and other types of leaders–of great intelligence and will, they seek answers on how to act. They put themselves in other states so they can ask (other parts of nature) how to act. Basically, one is changing their thinking patterns (which can be a weakened state of consciosuness–physically fitness-ly speaking) to experience other explanations (the advice of the oracle). But, in the end, will return to sober consciousness, but strong memories of what happened will have made their way into their organization schemas.
After awhile, feeling secure over one’s actions by accepting the rules of the designated God-speakers begins overshadowing goals related to physical survival (assuming these needs are being taken care of). The people become weak and crawl around on their knees, praying.
How often does the modern man learn lessons directly related to how to survive physically?Well, he does, but it is just according to different rules. He goes to school to learn basic skills, he’s brought up to have qualities that will make him successful (in fitting in with that culture). A source of food and housing–complete protection, completely secure!–will always be there, as long as he does what he has been taught.
So people have ignored what you call “nature”. Why? Well, how does it effect them? What does Christopher need to know about rainforests and pollution? What does he need to know about killing a boar? Christopher just has to remember to keep his shoes tied before going outside and always washing his hands before a meal.
Man uses nature as if nature were created for fim–an endless source of materials for man’s disposal!
All that’s left is for man to reasonably understand how he is a part of nature. Man will just have to learn to be one with nature, to not swm against the current, instead of naturally doing it. The upside to this? Living with the flow of nature, as a part of it, while also being able to express yourself–your unique way of reacting/thinking/being–, make your stamp, create a masterpiece creation. I think ready somewhere that Hinduism often views life as a play–a drama in which we all play actors. One day (if man doesn’t kill himself) man will understand his way of integrating back into a healthy balance with the rest of nature, and everyone–physically, psychologically and emotionally secure–will enjoy every moment of studying and reacting to, interacting with, others when they are very conscious of how the other expresses a message. Every action they take will be seen as uniquely theirs. There is no worrying of things going wrong, there is harmony and the enjoyment of knowing, no matter what you do, you are merely playing a part.