sampling

Consciousness is a sampling of brain activity of manageable size so we can talk about it.

Language meant a limited repertoire of words with which to communicate. This forced the brain to simplify in order to communicate.

Which came first, consciousness or language? I imagine we spoke to others before we spoke to ourselves. In either case, consciousness would be a prerequisite. It's what we talk about. We could not talk about our "brain state:" it's too complex. But we can talk about our conscious thoughts; they're manageable.

We also need consciousness to imagine what the other person hears when we speak.

Shouldn't we say that we "feel" conscious rather than that we are conscious? And free.

Consciousness as a simulation, a simplified version of what's out there and in our brains.