Neurobiology of Consciousness 1 Running Head: NEUROBIOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS The Neurobiology of Human Consciousness: Linking Rhetoric, Science, and Graduate Liberal Studies by

The purpose of this paper is to suggest Consciousness Studies as the fertile ground for linking the fields of Rhetoric, Sciences, and Graduate Liberal Studies. In order to do that, I first present a theoretical model developed in a master’s thesis on the topic of consciousness, which was completed in the Graduate Liberal Studies program at San Diego State University. Drawing widely from research by neurologist Antonio Damasio (2000, 2003), philosopher Daniel Dennett (1991, 2001, 2005), biologist Gerald Edelman (2000, 2004), and psychologist Julian Jaynes (2000), I argue in this theoretical model that the mechanisms of consciousness are both biological (neurons, neuronal groups, neural networks, and developmental selection) and cultural (semantics, language, metaphors, memes, and experiential selection), and the cultural mechanisms build on the biological mechanisms. This theoretical model shows that Consciousness Studies can benefit from research from the neurobiological studies of the brain, and the rhetorical studies of metaphors. Second, I explain the importance of rhetorical studies of metaphors in understanding human consciousness. Third, I note the recent establishments of doctoral programs the field of Graduate Liberal Studies as an indicator of its increased research emphasis. Implications of Consciousness Studies for the liberal arts tradition are also discussed. Neurobiology of Consciousness 1