Abstract
In this study, I propose a hypothesis about the origin of emotions and consciousness because of intercellular communication during the integration of multicellular organisms. Multicellular organisms are limited in their ability to respond directly to stimuli due to the heterogeneity of reactions of different cells. Cells are forced to coordinate their actions with each other, communicating their homeostatic states through chemical and electrical signals. The combination of homeostatic signals from individual cells forms a subjective and differentiated evaluation of the state of a multicellular organism as primary emotions and allows it to move from automatic reactions to active optimization behavior based on the competition of motives. Thus, I claim that consciousness is a function of communication of living beings (originally cells), and it acquired its subjective form due to the integration of a multicellular organism into a single subject.
