Psychology

Two conceptions of consciousness and why only the neo-Aristotelian one enables us to construct evolutionary explanations

H. Smit and P. Hacker

Discover how the clash between Cartesian and neo-Aristotelian views of the mind can impact our understanding of consciousness and its evolutionary roots. This intriguing research by Harry Smit and Peter Hacker uncovers the potential of integrated evolutionary theory with a fresh perspective on intellect and will.

00:00

Playback language: English

Index

Abstract

This paper contrasts Cartesian and neo-Aristotelian conceptions of mind, arguing that only the latter coherently integrates with evolutionary theory. The Cartesian dualism, separating mind and body, creates an unbridgeable gap between subjective experience and neural activity, hindering evolutionary explanations. The neo-Aristotelian view, defining the mind as the capacities of intellect and will, extended by viewing organisms as open thermodynamic systems with heredity, offers a framework for explaining consciousness' evolution.

Publisher

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

Published On

Sep 15, 2020

Authors

Harry Smit, Peter Hacker

Related Publications

Explore these studies to deepen your understanding of the subject.

Medicine and Health

Assessment of COVID-19 as the underlying cause of death among children and young people aged 0 to 19 years in the US

F. S, W. C, et al.

Health and Fitness

A tale of two pandemics: evolutionary psychology, urbanism, and the biology of disease spread deepen sociopolitical divides in the U.S.

L. A. Kuznar

Medicine and Health

The cryo-EM structure of the bd oxidase from *M. tuberculosis* reveals a unique structural framework and enables rational drug design to combat TB

S. Safarian, H. K. Opel-reading, et al.

Education

One country with two systems: The characteristics and development of higher education in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area

X. Xie, X. Liu, et al.

Listen, Learn & Level Up

Over 10,000 hours of research content in 25+ fields, available in 12+ languages.

No more digging through PDFs, just hit play and absorb the world's latest research in your language, on your time.

listen to research audio papers with researchbunny