Consciousness remains one of nature’s most profound mysteries. At its essence, consciousness is the awareness of both our external environment and our internal states. Despite its intuitive familiarity, defining consciousness proves elusive, leaving philosophers and scientists grappling with its complexities. Various theories abound, yet none have successfully unraveled the enigma of consciousness. This lack of understanding is unsettling, as it challenges our grasp of what makes us aware of ourselves and the world around us.
While consciousness and intelligence are interconnected, they are distinct concepts. Future discussions will delve deeper into their relationship. Like many human traits, consciousness likely evolved from simpler forms through natural selection. This evolution spans hundreds of millions of years, comprising countless micro steps that form a gradient of consciousness. But what marked the initial transition from non-consciousness to the basic awareness that eventually led to the complex consciousness humans experience today?
Consider a stone. Generally, stones are not considered conscious. However, some panpsychists argue that even inanimate objects might possess an inner life. Despite this, there is no evidence to support such claims, as stones exhibit no behavior indicative of consciousness. A more accepted starting point is with living organisms. A living being, or self, is a part of the universe that sustains itself and reproduces. To achieve this, it requires energy, where awareness of the environment becomes advantageous.
The original function of consciousness likely involved guiding a mobile self in search of food. On a smaller scale, awareness isn’t necessary for locating food. For instance, Trichopax adhaerens, one of the simplest animals, moves randomly, slowing down in the presence of food and speeding up in its absence. This behavior ensures it spends more time where food is available, without needing to be conscious of its surroundings.
The first significant step towards consciousness occurred when mobile organisms began moving directionally, towards beneficial stimuli like food and away from threats. Take Dugesia tigrina, a tiny worm known for its distinctive appearance. Its movements are influenced by its internal state, such as hunger. When hungry, it actively seeks food using chemoreceptors to detect scents, guiding it towards nourishment.
While following scents is effective, it lacks a sense of direction. The next evolutionary leap involved perception at a distance, such as vision. Vision adds depth and context to the world, offering a new dimension to awareness and advancing consciousness. An optical apparatus, like an eye, allows organisms to visualize goals and pursue them.
However, even with vision, an organism can only pursue food while it remains visible. The subsequent step involves internal visualization, enabling an organism to continue seeking food beyond its sensory range. This inner representation allows for a more familiar interaction with the world, introducing memory. Memory enables animals to resume their pursuits after brief distractions, a phenomenon known as ‘object permanence.’ This cognitive skill, present in some mammals and birds, suggests a basic sense of time.
A sense of time allows organisms to anticipate future events. For example, adult chickens can resist immediate gratification for a larger future reward, demonstrating an ability to visualize future outcomes. Western scrub jays exhibit even more sophisticated future planning by caching food and relocating it if they suspect potential theft. This behavior indicates an awareness of other conscious beings with different perspectives.
The ability to understand others’ perspectives is crucial for advanced consciousness. By empathizing or outsmarting competitors, organisms engage in complex social interactions. Language further enhances this ability, allowing for the construction of hypotheses, detailed planning, and communication. Through language, we contemplate our existence and consciousness, a topic for future exploration.
The journey of consciousness likely began with the directed movement of a hungry self towards food, offering survival advantages over random or stationary competitors. This primal urge for sustenance laid the foundation for the sophisticated consciousness that enables us to dream, build, and ponder our next meal. Our collective ingenuity has simplified food acquisition, allowing us to focus on other pursuits with minimal conscious effort.
This article is part of a series exploring life’s big questions, supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. For further reading, check the video description or access Rupert Glasgow’s book on consciousness for free. To support future content, visit our Patreon or shop for posters.
Engage in a classroom debate about the differences and similarities between consciousness and intelligence. Divide into two groups, with one side arguing that consciousness is a prerequisite for intelligence, while the other argues that intelligence can exist without consciousness. Use examples from the article to support your arguments.
Work in small groups to create a visual timeline that illustrates the evolutionary path to consciousness. Include key milestones such as the development of sensory perception, memory, and anticipation of future events. Present your timeline to the class, explaining each stage and its significance.
Conduct a simple experiment to simulate basic awareness using a robotic toy or a simple programmable device. Program the device to respond to stimuli, such as light or sound, mimicking the behavior of simple organisms like Trichopax adhaerens. Discuss how this relates to the concept of consciousness.
Research the role of vision in the evolution of consciousness. Investigate how different species use vision to interact with their environment and how this ability has contributed to their survival. Present your findings in a report or presentation, highlighting the importance of vision in advancing consciousness.
Write a short story from the perspective of an organism experiencing consciousness for the first time. Describe its interactions with the environment, its use of memory and anticipation, and its social interactions. Share your story with the class and discuss how it reflects the concepts discussed in the article.
Consciousness – The state of being aware of and able to think about one’s own existence, thoughts, and surroundings. – Philosophers often debate whether consciousness can be fully explained by physical processes in the brain.
Awareness – The knowledge or perception of a situation or fact. – Developing awareness of one’s own biases is crucial for personal growth and understanding others.
Intelligence – The ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. – In psychology, intelligence is often measured through various cognitive tests and assessments.
Evolution – The gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form. – The evolution of human cognition is a central topic in both psychology and anthropology.
Perception – The process of organizing, interpreting, and understanding sensory information. – Our perception of reality can be influenced by past experiences and cultural background.
Memory – The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information. – Psychologists study memory to understand how we retain and recall past experiences.
Empathy – The ability to understand and share the feelings of another. – Empathy is considered a crucial component of emotional intelligence and effective communication.
Language – A system of communication used by a particular community or country. – Language plays a vital role in shaping our thoughts and how we perceive the world.
Behavior – The way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially towards others. – Psychologists study behavior to understand the underlying mental processes and motivations.
Future – The time or a period of time following the moment of speaking or writing; time regarded as still to come. – Philosophers often ponder the implications of our actions on the future of humanity.
