In article <jwellington-2105961444260001 at ts26-11.homenet.ohio-state.edu>, jwellington at postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu (Joe Wellingtonder) says:
>>I'm currently doing a research project on the evolution of conciousness
Good luck! :)
>and am trying to answer a few questions such as: When did conciousness
>first appear?
Unknown (see below).
>Are there any universal neuroanatomical requirements for
>consciousness between species?
Unknown, since we don't know yet the neuroanatomical requirement for
consciousness in any species, not even our own. And we don't (can't)
even know if other species have consciousness as we know it.
The argument can be made that you can only be certain of your
own consciousness - everybody else out there could be a zombie that
only acts like it's conscious.
>Is a clear distinction between conscious
>and nonconscious species available?
Again, no. There are those who argue that only humans are truly
conscious, and those who think that all matter - perhaps even a
thermostat, or an electron - has some degree of consciousness.
As always seems to be the case in biology, the answer is probably
somewhere in between.
>Any thoughts or references will be
>greatly appreciated.
There's probably plenty of people on this newsgroup that can point
you to a great selection of books and papers; this topic comes up
a lot. Or just try searching "consciousness" in your local library
catalogue.
- Hannah
--
Hannah Dvorak hdvorak at cns.caltech.edu
Division of Biology 216-76
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125