The following was discussed in class, but an exact answer was not given:
Human consciousness is unique in that it has not been identified as a clearly visible or physical substance. Though it is present in other organisms, the role of consciousness is insignificant relative to the function of consciousness in humans. Do animals utilize their surroundings to aid their survival, or use their intelligence to explore the unknown? Humans are able to consistently reason and judge, applying intelligence where no other organism is capable of doing so. Because of this, can it be inferred that human consciousness, similar to any other biological trait, has evolved with time? Is the ability to recognize one's own existence a product of years of evolution, originating with the simple ability to, for example, recognize and use fire?
Personal experience has shown me that some may view conscious thought as 'above materialism', or outside the realm of substance; some view consciousness as something that exists, but cannot be seen or touched. Personally I find this hard to believe. Conscious thought is clearly a cognitive process, for we see the products of its existence (e.g., questioning, reasoning, problem solving). And with a damaged brain, as in the case of Terry Schiavo for instance, conscious thought is clearly damaged as well. And even in the case of death, for example, death of the body means death of consciousness. In summary consciousness very much a physical substance contained within the brain.
And this brings me to my question: In our original ancestors, were human consciousness and self-awareness always present in a more primitive form, such that it has evolved to its current state? If so, what is to prevent other organisms from evolving in a consistent manner? If not, where did this cognitive process come from? Why is it unique to humans?
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2 comments:
Steve, thanks for bringing up this issue again. I still don't have a good explanation or answer, but I did just come across this video in which experts from various fields (philosophy, anthropology, neuropsychology, etc.) debate on consciousness and the mind-body issue:
http://131.215.64.26/videos/ctt204.rm
It's part of a series called "Closer to Truth":
http://www.closertotruth.com/videoarchive/
index.html
I hope it'll give you more insights into the diverse views and ideas there are on this topic. Let us know what you think of the discussion.
If you (or others) come across more on this topic too, please share those resources with us!
Hi Kishav, I read your post and found it interesting. Here are my thoughts on consciousness.
It seems clear that consciousness is something based on biological processes in the brain. However, it is also clear that much of research from the latest brain imagery techniques seems to be largely correlational in nature. When someone is thinking, and we see electrical activity in the brain at that moment, we make an assumption that, that electrical activity is related to what type of task that person is thinking about i.e. a spatial relations task. As much as what we know about the brain is increasing with new research, there is still a tremendous amount of information about the brain we don't know. For example, it is clear that there are non-conscious processes that influence our behavior, the way we think and the way we feel. Many of these processes seem evident and research points to it, however, there are many theorized processes that are not proven or that are not clear as to how they actually function. To say for certain that consciousness is purely physical is not that necessarily that open and shut because it begins to call into question ideas of the soul, afterlife and the existence of a higher being. I personally believe that consciousness does exist within the brain as you do, but I am not convinced that it exists within the brain alone, or only within our species thereby limiting other organisms from having conscious thoughts. If other mammals such as apes can be taught rudimentary language, then it is clear that their ability to process information on a higher level and think exists. Its existence may not be to the level of human cognition, but it exists none the less. It additionally seems plausible that other organisms could have consciousness, just not evolved to the level of other humans. This may have been similarly present at earlier levels of evolution in early humans. These cognitive processes, from a Darwinian model, evolved through generations of survival of the fittest. This has nothing to do with a prevention of advancement of some species, helping the advancement of some and holding back others. Each species evolves from a process of, effectively, trial and error. When a process is adaptive, it continues to be implemented, however, when it is maladaptive and does not work, it may die off. Cognitive processes therefore can, in my opinion be thought of as evolving similarly to any other process or function within all species on the planet. Consciousness is adaptive, therefore it exists.
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