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Animal consciousness: Some philosophical, methodological, and evolutionary problems

Publication ,  Journal Article
Cartmill, M
Published in: American Zoologist
January 1, 2000

SYNOPSIS. No consensus exists concerning the mechanisms, distribution, or adaptive significance of consciousness. Agreement on any one of these issues would aid in resolving others. Given a reliable behavioral or neuroanatomical test for consciousness, we could map its distribution and describe its evolution. Conversely, if we knew its distribution, we could assess its adaptive value and look for similarly distributed neuroanatomies to help us get at its mechanisms. Morgan's Canon - the rule that we should avoid attributing humanlike mental states to other animals whenever possible - impedes the use of the comparative method in unraveling this knot. If interpreted in this context as a parsimony criterion, Morgan's Canon is logically equivalent to epiphenomenalism. It is parsimonious if and only if conscious mental events play no causal role in human behavior and human consciousness has no adaptive significance. Rejecting this conclusion entails rejecting the parsimony interpretation of Morgan's Canon.

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Published In

American Zoologist

DOI

ISSN

0003-1569

Publication Date

January 1, 2000

Volume

40

Issue

6

Start / End Page

835 / 846

Related Subject Headings

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0608 Zoology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology
 

Citation

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Cartmill, M. (2000). Animal consciousness: Some philosophical, methodological, and evolutionary problems. American Zoologist, 40(6), 835–846. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/40.6.835
Cartmill, M. “Animal consciousness: Some philosophical, methodological, and evolutionary problems.” American Zoologist 40, no. 6 (January 1, 2000): 835–46. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/40.6.835.
Cartmill M. Animal consciousness: Some philosophical, methodological, and evolutionary problems. American Zoologist. 2000 Jan 1;40(6):835–46.
Cartmill, M. “Animal consciousness: Some philosophical, methodological, and evolutionary problems.” American Zoologist, vol. 40, no. 6, Jan. 2000, pp. 835–46. Scopus, doi:10.1093/icb/40.6.835.
Cartmill M. Animal consciousness: Some philosophical, methodological, and evolutionary problems. American Zoologist. 2000 Jan 1;40(6):835–846.

Published In

American Zoologist

DOI

ISSN

0003-1569

Publication Date

January 1, 2000

Volume

40

Issue

6

Start / End Page

835 / 846

Related Subject Headings

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0608 Zoology
  • 0602 Ecology
  • 0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology