Creativity as a biological evolution enhancer and its relationship to language and consciousness

Abstract

The appearance of creativity in animal behavior and, as its peak expression, human inventiveness, presented a major breakthrough in the evolution of life. It enabled for much faster adaptation and enhanced survival potential in changing environments. In addition, it also brought improvements based on a society rather than an individual. More complex solutions based on teamwork could emerge and advances could be passed on to the whole population in the same generation. For this creative activity to be possible the ability to make new associations and hypothesis was needed, which seems to require some degree of conscious processing as detailed below. In addition, collaborative efforts depend upon a sufficiently sophisticated communication system, which could also require some conscious activity. Therefore, it seems plausible that creativity was a remarkable advantage that was selected for, taking with it language and consciousness.