dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaSpeculations on the emergence of self-awareness in big-brained organisms
| Authors | Emmanuel Tannenbaum |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0701017 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0701017 |
Abstract
This paper argues that self-awareness is a learned behavior that emerges in organisms whose brains have a sufficiently integrated, complex ability for associative learning and memory. Continual sensory input of information related to the organism causes the organism's brain to learn the physical characteristics of the organism, in the sense that neural pathways are produced that are reinforced by, and therefore recognize, various features associated with the organism. This results in the formation of a set of associations that may be termed an organismal self-image, which provides a mechanistic basis for the emergence of various behaviors that are associated with self-awareness, such as self-recognition. In humans, self-awareness includes additional behaviors such as recognition of self-awareness, the concept of I, and various existential and religious questions. This paper shows how associative memory and learning, combined with an organismal self-image and, in the case of humans, language, leads to the emergence of these various behaviors. This paper also discusses various tautologies that invariably emerge when discussing self-awareness, that ultimately prevent an unambiguous resolution to the various existential issues that arise. We continue with various speculations on manipulating self-awareness, and discuss how concepts from set and logic may provide a highly useful set of tools in computational neuroscience for understanding the emergence of higher cognitive functions in complex organisms. The existence of other types of awareness, and the role of mirror neurons in the emergence of self-awareness, are also briefly discussed.
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"abstract": "This paper argues that self-awareness is a learned behavior that emerges in\norganisms whose brains have a sufficiently integrated, complex ability for\nassociative learning and memory. Continual sensory input of information related\nto the organism causes the organism\u0027s brain to learn the physical\ncharacteristics of the organism, in the sense that neural pathways are produced\nthat are reinforced by, and therefore recognize, various features associated\nwith the organism. This results in the formation of a set of associations that\nmay be termed an organismal self-image, which provides a mechanistic basis for\nthe emergence of various behaviors that are associated with self-awareness,\nsuch as self-recognition. In humans, self-awareness includes additional\nbehaviors such as recognition of self-awareness, the concept of I, and various\nexistential and religious questions. This paper shows how associative memory\nand learning, combined with an organismal self-image and, in the case of\nhumans, language, leads to the emergence of these various behaviors. This paper\nalso discusses various tautologies that invariably emerge when discussing\nself-awareness, that ultimately prevent an unambiguous resolution to the\nvarious existential issues that arise. We continue with various speculations on\nmanipulating self-awareness, and discuss how concepts from set and logic may\nprovide a highly useful set of tools in computational neuroscience for\nunderstanding the emergence of higher cognitive functions in complex organisms.\nThe existence of other types of awareness, and the role of mirror neurons in\nthe emergence of self-awareness, are also briefly discussed.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0701017",
"authors": [
"Emmanuel Tannenbaum"
],
"categories": [
"q-bio.NC",
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"title": "Speculations on the emergence of self-awareness in big-brained organisms",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0701017"
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