Consciousness Evolving

This collection of essays examines the evolution of consciousness, addressing what makes humans distinctive. It begins with a behavioristic framing of the problem and ends with reflections on immortality through serial cloning. The chapters are organized into three sections: how and why consciousness may have evolved; special capacities such as language, creativity, and mentality as evolved adaptations; and the prospects for artificial evolution through designing robots with specific forms of consciousness and mind. The volume aims to help readers understand human distinctiveness and humanity's place in nature.

Study at a glance

Abstract

A collection of stimulating studies on the past, the present, and the future of consciousness, Consciousness Evolving contributes to understanding some of the most important conceptual problems of our time. The advent of the modern synthesis together with the human genome project affords a platform for considering what it is that makes humans distinctive. Beginning with an essay that accents the nature of the problem within a behavioristic framework and concluding with reflections on the prospects for a form of immortality through serial cloning, the chapters are divided into three sections, which concern how and why consciousness may have evolved, special capacities involving language, creativity, and mentality as candidates for evolved adaptations, and the prospects for artificial evolution though the design of robots with specific forms of consciousness and mind. This volume should appeal to every reader who wants to better understand the human species, including its distinctive properties and its place in nature. (Series A)