Consciousness results when communication modifies the form of self-estimated fitness
arXiv Preprint Archive January 27, 2014 Peer reviewed via arXiv
Summary
Consciousness may stem from how living systems internally assess their own well-being. A compelling theory suggests organisms first developed an intrinsic "self-estimated fitness"—an internal gauge of success, creating meaning. Later, advanced animals evolved unique communication that modifies this internal assessment in others. This shift in perceived meaning is experienced as primary consciousness. This q-bio.NC model offers a clear, positive framework for consciousness's evolution, from basic drives to complex awareness.
Abstract
The origin and development of consciousness is poorly understood. Although it is clearly a naturalistic phenomenon evolved through Darwinian evolution, explaining it in terms of physicochemical, neural, or symbolic mechanisms remains elusive. Here I propose that two steps had to be taken in its evolution. First, living systems evolved an intrinsic goal-directedness by internalizing Darwinian fitness as a self-estimated fitness. The self-estimated fitness participates in a feedback loop that effectively produces intrinsic meaning in the organism. Second, animals with advanced nervous systems evolved a special form of communication that modifies the way each partner estimates fitness. The resulting change in intrinsic meaning is experienced subjectively as a primary form of consciousness. This primary form is subsequently used to generate, partly through internalized dialogue, more complex forms of consciousness, such as consciousness of the natural and social worlds, consciousness of the self, and language-dependent forms of consciousness.