winnowing

Consciousness is part of a winnowing mechanism. There is too much information and processing for an unconscious mind to deal with. Thought would become de-centered and our survival would become threatened (the Hamlet syndrome). Because we have a body, we need the brain to focus. Consciousness (with its limited capacity = attention span) automatically limits what we focus on. It's the limiting that is crucial, not so much the focus. Intentionality may boil down to a mere forced narrowing of focus (as in bandwidth). The brain focuses but also moves on. Threshholds are reached and decisions are made and new pressing issues rise to the surface. There is limited computing time and it needs to be managed.