previously , we hypothesized that the development of cognitive processes provided such endowed animals with an additional coping strategy in dealing with stress .
this ability depends on a unifying consciousness appearing to control or regulate the many individual processes that potentially summate to make up the mind . without this unifying component ,
the cognitive mind would also have to develop , by chance within certain contingencies , a strong biological bias leading to belief in a highly organized world , since this is what would have survival value within one lifetime . in this regard ,
inter subjectivity and not objectivity is the best one can aspire to as a cognitive being . as hundert ( 1989 ) has clarified , there is always , in every appraisal we make , a contribution of  thoughts to things, which necessarily introduces an illusory potential . as also noted , there is a contribution of  things to thoughts .
the intersubjective world is not only shaped by our brains , but this very world also plays a role in shaping them .
so to some extent , our  brains are organized in concert with the world around us .
theoretically , our brains would develop differently if they were shaped by existence on another planet .
nevertheless , one can surmise that a potential illusory contribution of  thoughts to things is the human cognitive appraisal of a highly organized , objectifiable , understandable universe .
thus , this sense of unity as a coping strategy is somewhat of a deception or illusion , in that it imposes perceived order .
therefore , the biology of deception has been an important evolvement leading to humans as creative cognitive beings .
another premise extends this notion and suggests that denial - like processes are at the core of the cognitive coping mechanisms we have evolved as humans . in this regard , with cognitive ability , one associates or assumes that this process occurs by way of a 
rational mind . that is the ability to evaluate many items of information and finally , come up with a well - thought - out solution to a problem . as is implied ,
this only occurs after a conflict , with weighing out of all details , considerations , and facts in a situation .
however , such a detailed cognitive process as being rational would also lead , counter - intuitively , to inactivity and major delays in conclusion - reaching . thus , for many circumstances an organism exhibiting extended 
rationality would not or could not survive . from this premise , we surmised that , in part , emotion can be viewed as prompting a short - cut to 
in reality , our quick decision - making ability , certainly when resulting behavior is largely a product of pre - cognitive functioning , has fewer overt parameters and occurs rapidly . in the present report , we surmise that humans as cognitive beings did not just 
appear upon the top of the evolutionary tree with cognitive ability . in this regard , we will not extensively review the recent and impressive reports that other animals may have a level of consciousness and limited intelligence [ 510 ] .
instead , we will provide a logical argument for the apparent reluctance of humans , in general , to accept these behavioral attributes as being present in other animals .
indeed , this reluctance may be founded once more in the overall concept of the biology of deception ; that is a perceived distortion of reality that favors survival and a sense of superiority .
it is widely held that the mammalian nervous system had its origin in invertebrate organisms .
indeed , when we examine the fundamental basis of any stimulus response mechanism , even in a single cell , we are left with astounding simplicity , i.e. , there are only sensory , integrative and motor components in this loop .
presumably , during evolution , making this system work in an appropriate fashion must have taken an equally long time in itself . however ,
moreover , once the energy - saving advantage of having cells communicate and develop specialized activities was realized , another conservative mechanism became evident .
cells were communicating , to a great extent , by chemical means , since this method of signaling reduces the size requirements for the individual communicating components ( signal molecule and its corresponding receptor ) .
this method of intra- and intercellular communication allowed for a greater level of sophistication and information transfer compared to a scenario of whole cells touching , using up limited space .
the significance of stereoselective chemical communication can be noted today by its presence and actions in diverse organisms .
similarly , many of the same intracellular and intercellular signal molecules have been retained during evolution as well as functions associated with them first found in organisms considered primitive [ 1114 ] .
this is manifest , for example , in signal molecules once associated exclusively with the nervous system now being demonstrated in the immune system , and vice versa , e.g. , neuropeptides and cytokines , respectively .
if we now examine what has evolved to account for human cognitive ability , it would have to be the extent and capacity of the integrative processes . in examining any text in comparative anatomy ,
we are also led to the conclusion that a single structure can be traced back in time and that its presence today has been modified .
the examples of this development process that retains and embellishes information as a function of a changing environment with time are now too numerous to list .
since this developmental process of using and modifying existing structures and their activities is ongoing , we are on strong ground in surmising that the same holds true for a host of behaviors , including cognitive ability as noted to be present in animals other than humans by various authors [ 510,15 ] , i.e. animals probably have a limited degree of cognitive ability , displaying critical fragments of the capability that exists more fully in humans
. it would be foolish to think that this is the first process that developed fully de novo in humans .
this assumption is fully borne out in recent reports concerning animals exhibiting higher behavioral characteristics , i.e. limited cognition . since this appears to be a logical assumption regarding the developmental aspects of cognitive ability during evolution , we are faced with the question of why there is such reluctance to recognize limited cognitive ability for what it is in other animals ? in part , we speculate that this concept has not gained wide acceptance because humans , deceptively , perceive themselves not only as being at the top of the evolutionary tree , but the responsible agents for all other life forms as well , because they are not so endowed .
inner behavior , we further exalt ourselves . by placing ourselves on such a high level , we further advance our self - image .
this in turn has allowed humans to excel , since humans believe they alone are capable of such higher neural activities .
indeed , it is humans who provide the  rhyme and reason for all events given the responsibility of their position .
this belief can and has been used to place the desires of humans over that of other living forms , which actually may not be tolerated for such a trait .
progress as a species is assured by this coping strategy since humans alone are the master of all other life forms by being singly possessed with cognitive ability . moreover , believing we are supreme helped us throughout our history in explaining our position on the planet and in the universe . viewing this from a negative perspective
, it would have been difficult to make decisions of survival based on the killing of other cognitive beings , regardless of how limited their abilities in this regard may be . furthermore , recognizing this ability in other animals would have placed limitations on human actions throughout history . in the past , our laboratory , from its perspective , noted that cognition evolved as a coping strategy .
this strategy gave survival value to the evolution of a mind capable of purposefully interacting with the environment and building and using information in the novel , e.g. , creative endeavors .
however , for the mind of an individual to  advance  ( succeed ) , each had to have the illusion of being both right and superior in its outcome otherwise the mind s motivation would not be present , leading to inactivity since competitive thinking would not exist .
additionally , if our brain - based cognitive activities were to be truly rational , each thought would require a thorough reasoning process ; again , this would be time - consuming , leading to inactivity .
clearly , cognition carries a negative component with its evolution , namely , superiority and the belief that the individual barrier of the unit cognitive process is always right , imposing their will to induce their conformity . in this
regard , cognition required the opposite neural process of rationality to achieve rapid and creative advances .
cognition s shortcut , emotion , became that safety factor , offering a way out of long cognitive exercises , as well as justifying novel solutions ( on the spot , gut feelings , etc . ) . while some may be coupled emotionally to motivating behaviors , e.g. , rage , sex , pain , etc .
, it has greater regulatory features that exceed cognition , e.g. , unconscious regulatory activities ( vasomotor modulation , involuntary responses , etc . ) . by placing involuntary functions under its sphere of physiological influence , one may surmise emotion regulates more functions , which are also occurring simultaneously , than those under the control of cognition .
emotion thus becomes the most dominant physiological process in the brain and occupies a central regulatory position in cognition , allowing it to advance in its creative potential .
briefly , validation of the hypothesis , the significance of emotion , comes from animals that have 
chosen to be our companions , in some cases by preferentially selecting us over their species , e.g. , dogs . in general
, these animals do not compete with us for intellectual superiority , which would be difficult to allow given our desire for conformity and our minds construct for not tolerating cognitive competition , but would be easy for them to attain emotional ties , which would make the coupling more pleasant while maintaining the superiority component of the interaction .
commandeering a foothold in our cognitive mind would be more easily facilitated by way of creating an emotional dependence for them .
it would represent the ideal mechanism for ensuring their position as our loyal companions since this event would represent all anthropomorphic manifestations as being human - friendly and supportive . in recent years , our understanding of animal behavior , such as with dogs , has grown in depth so that associations can be made between their cognitive level and their interaction with humans . in this regard
the presence of the bonding chemical messenger , oxytocin , in dogs helps explain why deeply imbedded associations in bonding occur between us since they secrete this molecule during bonding , e.g. , gazing [ 1620 ] ( figure 1 ) .
this level of unconscious communication is based on the assumption that dogs have an inherent ability to build on the evaluation of a human s emotions , using this ability in a unique survival coping strategy .
hence , a good part of canine survival occurs because emotions exist in both species , allowing these organisms , especially humans , to interact on the emotional level . for humans ,
the weight of rationality is , in part , removed because emotion represents a short cut to the lengthy process of rationality as noted earlier .
it is widely held that the mammalian nervous system had its origin in invertebrate organisms .
indeed , when we examine the fundamental basis of any stimulus response mechanism , even in a single cell , we are left with astounding simplicity , i.e. , there are only sensory , integrative and motor components in this loop .
presumably , during evolution , making this system work in an appropriate fashion must have taken an equally long time in itself . however ,
moreover , once the energy - saving advantage of having cells communicate and develop specialized activities was realized , another conservative mechanism became evident .
cells were communicating , to a great extent , by chemical means , since this method of signaling reduces the size requirements for the individual communicating components ( signal molecule and its corresponding receptor ) .
this method of intra- and intercellular communication allowed for a greater level of sophistication and information transfer compared to a scenario of whole cells touching , using up limited space .
the significance of stereoselective chemical communication can be noted today by its presence and actions in diverse organisms .
similarly , many of the same intracellular and intercellular signal molecules have been retained during evolution as well as functions associated with them first found in organisms considered primitive [ 1114 ] .
this is manifest , for example , in signal molecules once associated exclusively with the nervous system now being demonstrated in the immune system , and vice versa , e.g. , neuropeptides and cytokines , respectively .
if we now examine what has evolved to account for human cognitive ability , it would have to be the extent and capacity of the integrative processes . in examining any text in comparative anatomy ,
we are also led to the conclusion that a single structure can be traced back in time and that its presence today has been modified .
the examples of this development process that retains and embellishes information as a function of a changing environment with time are now too numerous to list .
since this developmental process of using and modifying existing structures and their activities is ongoing , we are on strong ground in surmising that the same holds true for a host of behaviors , including cognitive ability as noted to be present in animals other than humans by various authors [ 510,15 ] , i.e. animals probably have a limited degree of cognitive ability , displaying critical fragments of the capability that exists more fully in humans . it would be foolish to think that this is the first process that developed fully de novo in humans .
this assumption is fully borne out in recent reports concerning animals exhibiting higher behavioral characteristics , i.e. limited cognition . since this appears to be a logical assumption regarding the developmental aspects of cognitive ability during evolution , we are faced with the question of why there is such reluctance to recognize limited cognitive ability for what it is in other animals ? in part , we speculate that this concept has not gained wide acceptance because humans , deceptively , perceive themselves not only as being at the top of the evolutionary tree , but the responsible agents for all other life forms as well , because they are not so endowed .
thus , by denying their limited capacity for complex  inner behavior , we further exalt ourselves . by placing ourselves on such a high level , we further advance our self - image .
this in turn has allowed humans to excel , since humans believe they alone are capable of such higher neural activities .
indeed , it is humans who provide the  rhyme and reason for all events given the responsibility of their position .
this belief can and has been used to place the desires of humans over that of other living forms , which actually may not be tolerated for such a trait .
progress as a species is assured by this coping strategy since humans alone are the master of all other life forms by being singly possessed with cognitive ability . moreover , believing we are supreme helped us throughout our history in explaining our position on the planet and in the universe . viewing this from a negative perspective
, it would have been difficult to make decisions of survival based on the killing of other cognitive beings , regardless of how limited their abilities in this regard may be . furthermore , recognizing this ability in other animals would have placed limitations on human actions throughout history . in the past , our laboratory , from its perspective , noted that cognition evolved as a coping strategy .
this strategy gave survival value to the evolution of a mind capable of purposefully interacting with the environment and building and using information in the novel , e.g. , creative endeavors .
however , for the mind of an individual to  advance  ( succeed ) , each had to have the illusion of being both right and superior in its outcome otherwise the mind s motivation would not be present , leading to inactivity since competitive thinking would not exist . additionally , if our brain - based cognitive activities were to be truly rational , each thought would require a thorough reasoning process ; again , this would be time - consuming , leading to inactivity .
clearly , cognition carries a negative component with its evolution , namely , superiority and the belief that the individual barrier of the unit cognitive process is always right , imposing their will to induce their conformity . in this
regard , cognition required the opposite neural process of rationality to achieve rapid and creative advances .
cognition s shortcut , emotion , became that safety factor , offering a way out of long cognitive exercises , as well as justifying novel solutions ( on the spot , gut feelings , etc . ) . while some may be coupled emotionally to motivating behaviors , e.g. , rage , sex , pain , etc .
, it has greater regulatory features that exceed cognition , e.g. , unconscious regulatory activities ( vasomotor modulation , involuntary responses , etc . ) . by placing involuntary functions under its sphere of physiological influence , one may surmise emotion regulates more functions , which are also occurring simultaneously , than those under the control of cognition .
emotion thus becomes the most dominant physiological process in the brain and occupies a central regulatory position in cognition , allowing it to advance in its creative potential .
briefly , validation of the hypothesis , the significance of emotion , comes from animals that have 
chosen to be our companions , in some cases by preferentially selecting us over their species , e.g. , dogs . in general , these animals
do not compete with us for intellectual superiority , which would be difficult to allow given our desire for conformity and our minds construct for not tolerating cognitive competition , but would be easy for them to attain emotional ties , which would make the coupling more pleasant while maintaining the superiority component of the interaction .
commandeering a foothold in our cognitive mind would be more easily facilitated by way of creating an emotional dependence for them .
it would represent the ideal mechanism for ensuring their position as our loyal companions since this event would represent all anthropomorphic manifestations as being human - friendly and supportive . in recent years , our understanding of animal behavior , such as with dogs , has grown in depth so that associations can be made between their cognitive level and their interaction with humans . in this regard
the presence of the bonding chemical messenger , oxytocin , in dogs helps explain why deeply imbedded associations in bonding occur between us since they secrete this molecule during bonding , e.g. , gazing [ 1620 ] ( figure 1 ) .
this level of unconscious communication is based on the assumption that dogs have an inherent ability to build on the evaluation of a human s emotions , using this ability in a unique survival coping strategy .
hence , a good part of canine survival occurs because emotions exist in both species , allowing these organisms , especially humans , to interact on the emotional level . for humans ,
the weight of rationality is , in part , removed because emotion represents a short cut to the lengthy process of rationality as noted earlier .
despite our ability to recognize limited cognitive behavioral characteristics in animals , there has been no outcry to proclaim this phenomenon .
the image we have of ourselves as solely possessing cognition has taken advantage of the illusory potential in intersubjectivity and has placed us outside of reality .
this deception , however , has positive survival value since it is humankind s self - proclaimed responsibility to excel beyond other simple animal species .
however , at this point in evolution , we must allow our cognitive ability to reform itself , and in so doing evolve with the benefit of the knowledge that this ability is itself creating .
we propose that emotional systems play a large role in modulating mind and body related functions that previously realized themselves in cognitive endowments .
emotion induces by its nature many neural regulating processes out of the cognitive sphere of control .
interestingly , animals , such as dogs , have tapped into this unconscious integrative control system by appealing to emotional modulation via similar neural anatomy and physiological systems , making themselves a necessity for the human experience . in so doing ,
they have measurably enhanced the quality of cognitive life , including providing health benefits via emotional bonding .
 cognitive ability did not appear de novo in humans . despite our ability to recognize limited cognitive behavioral characteristics in animals , there has been no outcry to proclaim this phenomenon . 
 the notion that humans are the only animals to possess cognition has taken advantage of the illusory potential in inter - subjectivity and placed him outside of reality . 
 this deception , however , has positive survival value due to the fact that it is humankind s self - proclaimed responsibility to excel beyond other simple animal species . 
 however , at this point in evolution , we must allow our cognitive ability to reform itself and , in so doing , evolve with the benefit of the knowledge that this ability is itself creating . by recognizing that animals may have limited cognitive ability 
 , we only enhance our self - esteem , not diminish it . furthermore , cognition , given its limited brain controlling attributes , may mask another more diligent force for action and control , namely , emotion . 
 emotion provides the motivation for action , the mechanism to limit reason in a timely survival related manner and a coping strategy for dealing with other humans and animals while simultaneously modulating involuntary physiological functions in an appropriate manner . 
Background
Discussion
Evolution
Perceptions
Conclusions