?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Evolution+of+Representations.+From+Basic+Life+to+Self-Representation+and+Self-Consciousness&rft.creator=Menant%2C+Christophe&rft.subject=Animal+Cognition&rft.subject=Computational+Neuroscience&rft.subject=Primatology&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.subject=Artificial+Intelligence&rft.subject=Evolutionary+Psychology&rft.subject=Robotics&rft.subject=Epistemology&rft.description=The+notion+of+representation+is+at+the+foundation+of+cognitive+sciences+and+is+used+in+theories+of+mind+and+consciousness.+Other+notions+like+%E2%80%98embodiment%E2%80%99%2C+'intentionality%E2%80%98%2C+'guidance+theory'+or+%E2%80%98biosemantics%E2%80%99+have+been+associated+to+the+notion+of+representation+to+introduce+its+functional+aspect.+We+would+like+to+propose+here+that+a+conception+of+'usage+related'+representation+eases+its+positioning+in+an+evolutionary+context%2C+and+opens+new+areas+of+investigation+toward+self-representation+and+self-consciousness.+The+subject+is+presented+in+five+parts%3AFollowing+an+overall+presentation%2C+the+first+part+introduces+a+usage+related+representation+as+being+an+information+managed+by+a+system+submitted+to+a+constraint+that+has+to+be+satisfied.+We+consider+that+such+a+system+can+generate+a+meaningful+information+by+comparing+its+constraint+to+a+received+information+(Menant+2003).+We+define+a+representation+as+being+made+of+the+received+information+and+of+the+meaningful+information.+Such+approach+allows+groundings+in+and+out+for+the+representation+relatively+to+the+system.+The+second+part+introduces+the+two+types+of+representations+we+want+to+focus+on+for+living+organisms%3A+representations+of+conspecifics+and+auto-representation%2C+the+latter+being+defined+without+using+a+notion+of+self-representation.+Both+types+of+representations+have+existed+for+our++pre-human+ancestors+which+can+be+compared+to+today+great+apes.In+the+third+part%2C+we+use+the+performance+of+intersubjectivity+as+identified+in+group+life+with+the+presence+of+mirror+neurons+in+the+organisms.+Mirror+neurons+have+been+discovered+in+the+90%E2%80%98s+(Rizzolatti+%26+al.1996%2C+Gallese+%26+al.1996).+The+level+of+intersubjectivity+that+can+be+attributed+to+non+human+primates+as+related+to+mirror+neurons+is+currently+a+subject+of+debate+(Decety+2003).+We+consider+that+a+limited+intersubjectivity+between+pre-human+primates+made+possible+a+merger+of+both+types+of+representations.+The+fourth+part+proposes+that+such+a+merger+of+representations+feeds+the+auto-representation+with+the+meanings+associated+to+the+representations+of+conspecifics%2C+namely+the+meanings+associated+to+an+entity+perceived+as+existing+in+the+environment.+We+propose+that+auto-representation+carrying+these+new+meanings+makes+up+the+first+elements+of+self-representation.+Intersubjectivity+has+allowed+auto-representation+to+evolve+into+self-representation%2C+avoiding+the+homunculus+risk.++%0AThe+fifth+part+is+a+continuation+to+other+presentations+(Menant+2004%2C+2005)+about+possible+evolution+of+self-representation+into+self-consciousness.+We+propose+that+identification+with+suffering+or+endangered+conspecifics+has+increased+anxiety%2C+and+that+the+tools+used+to+limit+this+anxiety+(development+of+empathy%2C+imitation%2C+language+and+group+life)+have+provided+a+positive+feedback+on+intersubjectivity+and+created+an+evolutionary+engine+for+the+organism.+Other+outcomes+have+also+been+possible.+Such+approach+roots+consciousness+in+emotions.+%0AThe+evolutionary+scenario+proposed+here+does+not+introduce+explicitly+the+question+of+phenomenal+consciousness+(Block+1995).+This+question+is+to+be+addressed+later+with+the+help+of+this+scenario.The+conclusion+lists+the+points+introduced+here+with+their+possible+continuations.%0A&rft.date=2006&rft.type=Conference+Poster&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4843%2F1%2FMenant_TSC_2006_Poster.pdf&rft.identifier=++Menant%2C+Christophe++(2006)+Evolution+of+Representations.+From+Basic+Life+to+Self-Representation+and+Self-Consciousness.++%5BConference+Poster%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4843%2F