The purpose of consciousness

The purpose of consciousness is to optimize the fulfillment of all our drives.

The drives are all over the place. E.g., there is a drive to just lie down flat “and enjoy life” (pure nothing to do), and there is another which want us to do “great deeds” “and thereby enjoy life”. We want to make others happy, but we want to win. Consciousness is there to organize these various drives in a whole. So, e.g., “do good work” and then just loll around (“rest”, “recreation”) — this makes both the drives satisfied with your leadership.

on sexual arousal

Even under the situations I despise clearly (e.g., pornography if it not specially ugly), the stimulus leads to a certain degree of sexual arousal. The arousal is not clear or clean, for the idea that I despise it is right there too, but it is there.

The response to such stimulus is probably subconscious. The “meaning” attached to such activities, is, however, work of the conscious mind.

So, the only way to resolve the above contradiction is for the conscious mind to say (when the arousal rises in such situations): yes, it is there, but it is illegitimate, so I am not going to pay any attention to it. This — saying “get lost” to the stimulus, and letting it fade away uncared for – is not difficult, at least after practice!

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We feel a special type of care for the young of all animals. This feeling is wholly subconscious, even though our conscious mind thinks otherwise. A special type of concern for women is likewise wholly subconscious too, and perhaps the only reason we don’t have this feeling for females of all animals is that our conscious mind would find it too ridiculous. That is, the conscious mind is able to control the limits of the subconscious feelings. We need to put the limit where it suits us best. (See also.)

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Notes:
“Er reagirt auf alle Art Reize langsam, mit jener Langsamkeit, die eine lange Vorsicht und ein gewollter Stolz ihm angezüchtet haben, — er prüft den Reiz, der herankommt, er ist fern davon, ihm entgegenzugehn.” “He reacts to every kind of stimulus slowly, with the slowness which long caution and a self-conscious pride have cultivated in him — he examines the stimulus as it approaches and has no intention of going to meet it”. –Nietzsche, Ecce Homo.

Probably all animals feel a special care for the young of all animals! Eckermann recounts his observations of adults birds helping arbitrary birds (other species) when the young birds were in need. (Goethe and Eckermann: 8th October 1827. Bottom third of the page.)
https://www.projekt-gutenberg.org/eckerman/gesprche/gsp3067.html