Origins of Consciousness

1
Origins of Consciousness

• Evolutionary and Developmental Considerations

2
Types of Consideration

• Ontogenetic Development
• development over the lifespan
• Phylogenetic Development
• development over evolutionary time
• Consciousness and Culture

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The Other Minds Problem

• How can one tell that another entity has a
  mind?
• Argument by analogy
• Argument by behavioral criteria
• Argument by theory

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Argument by Analogy

• Interpret the experience of another entity by
  analogy to ones own
• e.g., a mouse running from cat in terror
• e.g., a dog wagging its tail in pleasure
• Problems
• different sensory worlds of different entities
• different behavioral organization

5
Argument by Behavior

• Identify behaviors that are indicators of
  consciousness
• Introspection
• Intelligent behavior
• Self-awareness

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Problems for Argument by Behavior

• Introspection
• Limits mind to language-based entities
• Intelligent behavior
• How to distinguish intelligence from
  adapativeness
• Self-awareness
• How to tell if an organism has a self

7
Argument by Theory

• Identify the neural substrate and/or cognitive
  mechanisms involved in human consciousness, then
  match these to neural substrates and/or cognitive
  mechanisms in animals
• e.g., is STM found in animals and people?
• Problems
• Lack of accepted theory of human consciousness

8
Ontogenetic Development

• When does an organism become conscious in its
  development?
• Do different aspects of consciousness develop at
  different times?

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Cognitive Development

• Piagets Stages of Development
• Sensorimotor Stage
• buzzing, blooming confusion
• Pre-operational Stage

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Development of Sense of Self

• Recognition of Self
• Perspective Taking
• Ideas about self
• Initial descriptions are physical
• what are physical characteristics
• Later descriptions are social/interactive
• what are capacities and relations

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Phylogenetic Development

• When does consciousness appear in the evolution
  of organisms?
• Within human evolution
• Prior to human evolution
• What is the adaptive value of consciousness?
• Biological function
• Darwinian fitness

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Darwin and Consciousness

• All physical properties of organisms are the
  product of evolutionary processes
• Psychological properties are shaped by physical
  properties
• Psychological properties are equally the product
  of evolutionary processes

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Self-Awareness in Animals

• Recognition of Self
• Symbolic Representations
• Language
• Intentionality
• Deception
• Theory of mind

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Recognition of Self

• The Mirror Test
• Place a mark on individual that can only be
  viewed by reflection
• Gordon Gallup used this on primates
• Chimpanzees reacted to mark
• Gibbons did not
• Monkeys did not

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Symbolic Representation

• Animal Languages
• Bee communication system
• The dance of the bees
• Vervet monkey communication system
• alarm calls for eagle, snake, leopard

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Intentionality

• Deception
• Broken-wing displays
• Misdirection
• Social Co-ordination
• group hunting

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Theory of Mind

• Can an animal infer what another is perceiving?
• Studies with Sarah
• Follow-up studies