Theory Of Consciousness Paper

Consciousness is a tricky concept, both in its definition and its attribution. Here, “consciousness” refers to a cognitive process involving self-awareness and wakefulness; this paper will be specifically concerned with self-awareness, which seems to be a minimum requirement of conscious experience. I propose that the evolutionary history of consciousness likely began in large-bodied, arboreal apes with the development of a bodily self-awareness and sense of personal agency, allowing them to successfully navigate their fragile and dangerous environment. Many theories of the evolution of intelligence point to complex social hierarchies as a major selective pressure for increased intellectual capacity; I believe that the same selective pressure …show more content…
Based on empirical observations and coincident evolutionary timeline, the right insular cortex in great apes and humans seems to be a strong candidate neural correlate of consciousness. The phylogenetic distribution of self-awareness

Several studies have indicated that the phylogenetic distribution of self-awareness seems to be limited to primates in the great ape / human clade (Hominidae; in review in Gallup et al., 2002; Povinelli and Cant, 1995). The great apes (Hominidae) likely diverged from a common ancestor around 14 million years ago (Hill and Ward, 1998). Testing mirror recognition is the most popular and well-studied proxy for self-awareness. In the mirror test, an animal is anesthetized and marked while unconscious; following marking, the animal’s behavior when faced with a mirror is observed. Does the behavior indicate an understanding that the mirror presents a reflection, or is it consistent with how that animal would behave when faced with another animal? Introduction of the mirror and length of exposure vary, but the mirror test has been widely used for …show more content…
There are many different theories of ecological dominance, generally attributing the remarkable cognitive development of hominids to the selective advantages that accompany mastery of tasks such as tool use, hunting, scavenging, foraging, food processing, and living in unstable environments (Flinn et al., 2005). The social brain hypothesis proposes that group living in primates may have led to the development of sophisticated mental abilities to successfully navigate complex social hierarchies, noting a quantitative relationship between social group size and some measure of brain size (Dunbar et al., 2009). In a similar vein, Geoffrey Miller (1998)’s sexual selection hypothesis posits that hominid cognitive development came about through sexual selection, with cognitive displays acting as fitness indicators for potential mates. However, a common issue with these hypotheses is explaining the phylogenetic distribution