Inquiry regarding evolution and consciousness

<< Hi, Can someone give me a precis or direct me to literature (or good web pages!) about the
origins of consciousness (emotion, reason, etc)

Don't forget memory. We have to have memory to compare now with before. You can't have a now if you
have no then to compare it with IMO.

and how evolution theory provides an explanation into its development. Particularly helpful would be
information that is oriented to non-scientists.

Thank you in advance.

"cah" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Can someone give me a precis or direct me to literature (or good web >

pages!) about the origins of consciousness (emotion, reason, etc) and

Quoted message said:

how evolution theory provides an explanation into its development.

"Conciousness Explained" by Daniel Dennett and "The Emperor's New Mind" by Roger Penrose will give
you two not-too-technical accounts of the state of our knowledge. Dennett thinks the problem is
essentially solved, whilst Penrose thinks the opposite. On evolution and consciousness specifically
I can't think of much. There are lots of books on human evolution which give dates for first tool
use, bipedalism, first use of fire, first cultural artefacts etc.

Quoted message said:

Particularly helpful would be information that is oriented to non- scientists.

Bascially everyone is a non-scientist when it come to consciousness. We don't know what type of
phenomenon it is, nor even whether non-human organisms possess it.

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 00:02:44 GMT, TomHendricks474 opined:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I wrote: Hi, Can someone give me a precis or direct me to literature (or good web pages!) about
the origins of consciousness (emotion, reason, etc)

Don't forget memory. We have to have memory to compare now with before. You can't have a now if
you have no then to compare it with IMO.

Okay, memory, though I assumed it to be part of the concept of consciousness, in greater or lesser
degrees. I posed consciousness because I assume its a more generally applicable concept, perhaps,
than reason.

I understand that this is a rather difficult question to probe, but I'm wondering how it is being
addressed by the field.

Thank you to the folk who have emailed me with links and suggestions. I greatly appreciate it. Any
further leads or ideas, whether here or by email, are also very much appreciated in advance.

Regards, cah