?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Evolution+of+Representations+and+Intersubjectivity+as+sources+of+the+Self.+An+Introduction+to+the+Nature+of+Self-Consciousness.&rft.creator=Menant%2C+Christophe&rft.subject=Primatology&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.subject=Evolutionary+Psychology&rft.subject=Robotics&rft.description=It+is+agreed+by+most+people+that+self-consciousness+is+the+result+of+an+evolutionary+process%2C+and+that++++++representations+may+have+played+an+important+role+in+that+process.+We+would+like+to+propose+here+that+some+++evolutionary+stages+can+highlight+links+existing+between+representations+and+the+notion+of+self%2C+opening+a+possible+++path+to+the+nature+of+self-consciousness.+++Our+starting+point+is+to+focus+on+representations+as+usage+oriented+items+for+the+subject+that+carries+them.+These+++++representations+are+about+elements+of+the+environment+including+conspecifics%2C+and+can+also+represent+parts+of+the+++subject+without+refering+to+a+notion+of+self+(we+introduce+the+notion+of+%22auto-representation%22+that+does+not+carry+the+++++notion+of+self-representation).+Next+step+uses+the+performance+of+intersubjectivity+(mirror+neurons+level+in+evolution)++%0A++where+a+subject+has+the+capability+to+mentally+simulate+the+observed+action+of+a+conspecific+(Gallese+2001).+We++++propose+that+this+intersubjectivity+allows+the+subject+to+identify+his+auto-representation+with+the+representations+of+++his+conspecifics%2C+and+so+to+consider+his+auto-representation+as+existing+in+the+environment.+We+show+how+this+++evolutionary+stage+can+introduce+a+notion+of+self-representation+for+a+subject%2C+opening+a+road+to+self-conciousness+++and+to+self.+This+evolutionary+approach+to+the+self+via+self-+representation+is+close+to+the+current+theory+of+the+self+++linked+to+representations+and+simulations+(Metzinger+2003).+We+use+a+scenario+about+how+evolution+has+brought+++the+performance+of+self-representation+to+self-consciousness.+We+develop+a+process+describing+how+the+anxiety+++increase+resulting+from+identification+with+endangered+or+suffering+conspecifics+may+have+called+for+the+development+++of+tools+to+limit+this+anxiety+(empathy%2C+imitation%2C+language)%2C+and+how+these+tools+have+accelerated+the+evolutionary+++process+through+a+positive+feedback+on+intersubjectivity+(Menant+2004%2C+2005).+We+finish+by+summarizing+the+points+++addressed%2C+and+propose+some+possible+continuations.+%0A&rft.date=2006&rft.type=Conference+Poster&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4957%2F1%2FPoster.pdf&rft.identifier=++Menant%2C+Christophe++(2006)+Evolution+of+Representations+and+Intersubjectivity+as+sources+of+the+Self.+An+Introduction+to+the+Nature+of+Self-Consciousness.++%5BConference+Poster%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4957%2F