TY - JOUR AB - I analyse some of the key evolutionary issues that arise in the study of consciousness from a bio-philosophical point of view. They all seem to be related to the fact that phenomenality has a special status: it is a very complex feature, apparently more than biological, it is hard to define because of the plurality of its displays (cognition, various emotions, other complex functions such as vision) and it is difficult to study with classic evolutionary tools (such as philogenetics or paleoanthropology). Giving an answer to the question “is consciousness an adaptive trait?” thus seems to be very difficult and this paper intends to sketch some of the problems we should be concerned with when studying phenomenality as an adaptation. AU - Buda, Irina-Gabriela DO - 10.5840/forphil20091429 KW - adaptability (psychology); cognition; consciousness; emotions (psychology); evolution (biology) – philosophy M1 - 2 M3 - Article N1 - Andrews, Paul W. “Reconstructing the Evolution of Mind Is Depressingly Difficult.” In The Evolution of Mind: Fundamental Questions and Controversies, edited by Steven W. Gangestad and Jeffry A. Simpson, 45–52. New York: Guilford, 2007. Allen, Colin, and Marc Bekoff. “Biological Function, Adaptation and Natural Design.” Philosophy of Science 62, no. 4, (1995): 609–622. Block, Ned. “Concepts of Consciousness.” In Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary Readings, edited by David Chalmers, 206–219. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Brandon, Robert N. “A Structural Description of Evolutionary Theory.” PSA: Proceedings of the Biennal Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Vol. 1980, Volume Two: Symposia and Invited Papers (1980): 427–439. Carnfield, John. “Teleological Explanation in Biology.” The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 14, no. 56, (1964): 285–295. Chalmers, David. Philosophy of Mind: Classical and Contemporary Readings. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Gangestad, Steven W., and Jeffry A. Simpson. The Evolution of Mind: Fundamental Questions and Controversies. New York: Guilford Press, 2007. Griffiths, Paul E. “The Historical Turn in the Study of Adaptation.” The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 47, no. 4, (1996): 511–532. Hagen, Edward H., and Donald Symons. “Natural Psychology, The Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness and the Structure of Cognition.” In The Evolution of Mind: Fundamental Questions and Controversies, edited by Steven W. Gangestad and Jeffry A. Simpson, 38–44. New York: Guilford, 2007. Mahner, Martin, and Mario Bunge. Foundations of Biophilosophy. New York; Berlin: Springer, 1997. Mayr, Ernst. What Evolution Is. New York: Basic Books, 2001. Mithen, Steven. “How the Evolution of the Human Mind Might Be Reconstructed.” In The Evolution of Mind: Fundamental Questions and Controversies, edited by Steven W. Gangestad and Jeffry A. Simpson, 60–68. New York: Guilford, 2007. Munson, Ronald. “Biological Adaptation.” Philosophy of Science 38, no. 2 (1971): 200–215. Munson, Ronald. “Biological Adaptation: A Reply.” Philosophy of Science 39, no. 4 (1972): 529–532. Nichols, Shaun, and Todd Grantham. “Adaptive Complexity and Phenomenal Consciousness.” Philosophy of Science 67, no. 4 (2000): 648–670. Platt, Thomas W. “Adaptation as a Normative Concept.” Ethics 80, no. 3 (1970): 230–235. Ruse, Michael. “Biological Adaptation.” Philosophy of Science 39, no. 4 (1972): 525–528. PY - 2009 SN - 1426-1898 (paper) 2353-7043 (online) SP - 329–342 ST - Consciousness and Evolution T2 - Forum Philosophicum TI - Consciousness and Evolution UR - http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=47567576&lang=pl&site=ehost-live http://www.pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf/purchase?openform&fp=forphil&id=forphil_2009_0014_0002_0329_0342 VL - 14 ID - 64 ER -