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Signs of Consciousness?

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Abstract

In this commentary I expand on the first of Noble’s illusions, the selection metaphor. Building on my work with Simona Ginsburg on the evolution of minimal consciousness, I argue that the existence of some complex sensory and motor patterns in the living world can be accounted for only through the evolution of conscious choice.

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References

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Acknowledgments

I am very grateful to Marion Lambs for her constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, 6934525, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Eva Jablonka

  2. Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK

    Eva Jablonka

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  1. Eva Jablonka
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Correspondence to Eva Jablonka.

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The price of metaphor is eternal vigilance (Attributed to Arturo Rosenbluth and Norbert Wiener, quoted by R. C. Lewontin 2001, 1264).

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Jablonka, E. Signs of Consciousness?. Biosemiotics 14, 25–29 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-021-09419-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12304-021-09419-x

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