Consciousness: its goals, its functions and the emergence of a new category of selection.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci November 13, 2025 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2024.0310 via PubMed Central
Summary
The work proposes a new evolutionary framework for understanding consciousness, arguing that its primary function is to enable flexible, goal-directed behavior. It suggests that consciousness introduces a novel category of natural selection operating on mental representations and goals, not just genes or organisms. This perspective reinterprets the adaptive value of subjective experience.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Consciousness functions to enable flexible goal pursuit and introduces a new category of selection acting on mental representations. |
Abstract
Consciousness: its goals, its functions and the emergence of a new category of selection.