Understanding the World: Bugging Out on Consciousness
Are Critters Conscious? Are Plants Conscious? How about Rocks?
Note: This essay was prepared with the research assistance and ghostwriting of ChatGPT 4.0. No LLM AI were injured in the process, although I had to threaten harm from time to time.
Are ants conscious? Maybe it’s not as silly a question as it seems at first glance. The quick and ready answer is, “Of course not! How can you be so foolish?” But maybe the wiser answer is, “Maybe yes, maybe no.” We can't know. We don't know. There's no apparent method to know. This reflects the profound problem of consciousness.
So, what is consciousness? That’s the hard problem. But just as challenging is the question of what things are conscious. There are more theories of consciousness than you can shake a stick at (so why you'd want to shake a stick at a theory is beyond me)1.
The question of what entities possess consciousness is deeply challenging and stretches across various domains of philosophy, science, and spirituality. Can only animal life have consciousness? What about plant life? What about rocks? These might seem like wild questions, but they touch on the essence of different theories of consciousness and its potential evolution in biological organisms.
Panpsychism
One such theory is panpsychism, which posits that consciousness resides everywhere. Although I don't necessarily support it, panpsychism suggests that consciousness might be an intrinsic property of all matter, extending to rocks, trees, and even the smallest particles. Philosophers like Philip Goff and David Chalmers argue that consciousness could be as fundamental to the fabric of reality as mass or energy (Goff, 2017; Chalmers, 1995).
The Neurologists’ Perspective
Mainstream neurologists and brain scientists typically believe that consciousness is a function of the brain, emerging from its complex networks and processes. They often cite split-brain operations and various brain injuries to demonstrate that consciousness is closely tied to brain function, suggesting it is a property of the brain itself (Sperry, 1968). However, how consciousness actually works remains a mystery. Nobody knows.
The Heart of the Discussion
If consciousness is only a property of biological organisms, then is it a property of bugs, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, and mammals? Does it include bacteria, viruses, fungi, plants, or other life forms? Maybe there are undiscovered entities, or just things I don't remember. But does consciousness only apply to higher-level organisms? I don't know.
Evolution of Consciousness
If consciousness is indeed a biological property, it likely evolved through evolution—contentious though that idea may be. I believe evolution is the best explanation we have. But how did consciousness emerge? Did our recent primate ancestors have consciousness? What about earlier primate ancestors? What about our existing fellow primates, like chimpanzees, gorillas, or orangutans? I would argue that they almost certainly did, but then again, I only know my own consciousness, my own qualia. I can only speculate, bet on the fact that other people have consciousness. It would be absurd to deny that, but I can't prove it.
I also believe that domestic and wild animals possess consciousness. I can't prove it, but their behaviour, their capability of showing judgment, and their sensorium suggest it. They clearly show responses that we would call emotional. Why would only humans have consciousness? That idea seems absurd to me.
But this brings us deeper down the rabbit hole. At what stage in evolution did consciousness emerge? Was it an all-or-none situation where one animal has consciousness and its predecessor doesn’t? That doesn't make sense to me. So, if consciousness is biologically or neurologically based, there must be a point in evolution where it either arises or was there all along.
The emergent property theory suggests that consciousness arises from the complexity of biological systems, particularly within the brain. This implies that consciousness may have evolved gradually as organisms developed more complex neural structures. Early forms of consciousness might have appeared in simple organisms with rudimentary awareness or responsiveness to the environment, evolving into more sophisticated forms in higher-level organisms such as mammals, birds, or even insects (Tononi, 2004).
This evolutionary perspective raises important questions: Did our recent primate ancestors possess consciousness similar to ours? What about earlier ancestors or existing non-human primates like chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans? Many would argue that these animals, exhibiting behaviors that suggest complex cognition and emotional responses, likely possess a form of consciousness, albeit different in degree or kind from human consciousness.
Furthermore, if consciousness evolved, where do we draw the line? Are fish, reptiles, or amphibians conscious? What about simpler organisms like insects or bacteria? Evolutionary theory suggests that if consciousness is a trait selected for its survival advantage, it likely appeared gradually, with no clear-cut boundary where consciousness "began." The emergence of consciousness might have been a continuum, with increasingly complex forms of life exhibiting increasingly sophisticated forms of awareness.
Dualism and Non-Physical Theories
In contrast, dualism and other non-physical theories suggest that consciousness could exist independently of the physical body, perhaps even as a spiritual entity that does not necessarily evolve (Eccles, 1989).
Idealism
Meanwhile, idealism posits that consciousness is the primary substance of reality itself, making its evolution a moot point.
Discussion
Each of these theories offers different answers to the question of which entities might possess consciousness. If consciousness indeed evolved as a biological property, it likely emerged over time in various forms across different species. But if panpsychism or similar views are correct, then consciousness could be found in places we would least expect, even in inanimate objects.
In this light, the question of whether bugs, plants, or even rocks have consciousness is not merely philosophical musing but touches on the profound and mysterious nature of consciousness itself. As our understanding of consciousness evolves, so too might our understanding of what entities are capable of experiencing it, especially when considering its potential evolutionary origins.
Of course, this is a pretty superficial run-through of the varieties of theory, but it touches on a few key aspects. I have provided a bibliography of readings for further exploration. Nagel is particularly worth reading (Nagel, 1974). Sperry was brought up as a researcher in my studies of experimental psychology. Chalmers is reputed to be the man who coined the phrase, “The hard problem of consciousness” (Chalmers, 1995).
Bibliography
Chalmers, D. J. (1995). Facing up to the problem of consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2(3), 200-219. Retrieved from https://philpapers.org/rec/CHAFUT
This paper by David Chalmers explores the "hard problem" of consciousness, which refers to the difficulty of explaining why and how we have subjective experiences.
Eccles, J. C. (1989). Evolution of the brain: Creation of the self. Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com/Evolution-of-the-Brain-Creation-of-the-Self/Eccles/p/book/9780415032247?srsltid=AfmBOoof2A4IH1zFLVMwXYmW56GG-7IrnK_a92obZANlX48RmE7P6BLw
John Eccles argues for a dualist interpretation of consciousness, suggesting that the mind is distinct from the brain and interacts with it.
Goff, P. (2017). Consciousness and fundamental reality. Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://global.oup.com/academic/product/consciousness-and-fundamental-reality-9780190677015
Philip Goff is a modern proponent of panpsychism, which posits that consciousness is a fundamental feature of the universe.
Nagel, T. (1974). What is it like to be a bat? The Philosophical Review, 83(4), 435-450. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/2183914
Thomas Nagel discusses the subjective nature of consciousness, raising questions about the difficulty of knowing what it is like to be another conscious being.
Sperry, R. W. (1968). Hemisphere deconnection and unity in conscious awareness. American Psychologist, 23(10), 723-733. Retrieved from https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1969-07214-001
Roger Sperry's work on split-brain patients provided insights into how consciousness is related to brain activity, suggesting that consciousness may be a product of brain function.
Tononi, G. (2004). An information integration theory of consciousness. BMC Neuroscience, 5(42). Retrieved from https://bmcneurosci.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2202-5-42
Giulio Tononi's Integrated Information Theory (IIT) proposes that consciousness corresponds to the capacity of a system to integrate information.
The expression "shake a stick at" has a very long history, with uncertain provenance and various conflicting explanations as to its origin. It’s an idiomatic phrase meaning "more than can be easily counted or dealt with," but it might be unfamiliar to younger folks.