?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=The+evolution+of+what%3F&rft.creator=Sloman%2C+Aaron&rft.subject=Animal+Behavior&rft.subject=Animal+Cognition&rft.subject=Evolution&rft.subject=Theoretical+Biology&rft.subject=Clinical+Psychology&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Computational+Neuroscience&rft.subject=Comparative+Psychology&rft.subject=Artificial+Intelligence&rft.subject=Machine+Learning&rft.subject=Machine+Vision&rft.subject=Neural+Nets&rft.subject=Robotics&rft.subject=Developmental+Psychology&rft.subject=Evolutionary+Psychology&rft.subject=Neuropsychology&rft.subject=Epistemology&rft.subject=Metaphysics&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Science&rft.description=There+is+now+a+huge+amount+of+interest+in+consciousness+among+scientists+as+well+as+philosophers%2C+yet+there+is+so+much+confusion+and+ambiguity+in+the+claims+and+counter-claims+that+it+is+hard+to+tell+whether+any+progress+is+being+made.+This+%60%60position+paper''+suggests+that+we+can+make+progress+by+temporarily+putting+to+one+side+questions+about+what+consciousness+is+or+which+animals+or+machines+have+it+or+how+it+evolved.+Instead+we+should+focus+on+questions+about+the+sorts+of+architectures+that+are+possible+for+behaving+systems+and+ask+what+sorts+of+capabilities%2C+states+and+processes%2C+might+be+supported+by+different+sorts+of+architectures.+We+can+then+ask+which+organisms+and+machines+have+which+sorts+of+architectures.+This+combines+the+standpoint+of+philosopher%2C+biologist+and+engineer.+If+we+can+find+a+general+theory+of+the+variety+of+possible+architectures+(a+characterisation+of+%60%60design+space'')+and+the+variety+of+environments%2C+tasks+and+roles+to+which+such+architectures+are+well+suited+(a+characterisation+of+%60%60niche+space'')+we+may+be+able+to+use+such+a+theory+as+a+basis+for+formulating+new+more+precisely+defined+concepts+with+which+to+articulate+less+ambiguous+questions+about+the+space+of+possible+minds.+For+instance+our+initially+ill-defined+concept+(%60%60consciousness'')+might+split+into+a+collection+of+more+precisely+defined+concepts+which+can+be+used+to+ask+unambiguous+questions+with+definite+answers.+As+a+first+step+this+paper+explores+a+collection+of+conjectures+regarding+architectures+and+their+evolution.+In+particular+we+explore+architectures+involving+a+combination+of+coexisting+architectural+levels+including%3A+(a)+reactive+mechanisms+which+evolved+very+early%2C+(b)+deliberative+mechanisms+which+evolved+later+in+response+to+pressures+on+information+processing+resources+and+(c)+meta-management+mechanisms+that+can+explicitly+inspect+evaluate+and+modify+some+of+the+contents+of+various+internal+information+structures.+It+is+conjectured+that+in+response+to+the+needs+of+these+layers%2C+perceptual+and+action+subsystems+also+developed+layers%2C+and+also+that+an+%60%60alarm''+system+which+initially+existed+only+within+the+reactive+layer+may+have+become+increasingly+sophisticated+and+extensive+as+its+inputs+and+outputs+were+linked+to+the+newer+layers.+Processes+involving+the+meta-management+layer+in+the+architecture+could+explain+the+origin+of+the+notion+of+%60%60qualia''.+Processes+involving+the+%60%60alarm''+mechanism+and+mechanisms+concerned+with+resource+limits+in+the+second+and+third+layers+gives+us+an+explanation+of+three+main+forms+of+emotion%2C+helping+to+account+for+some+of+the+ambiguities+which+have+bedevilled+the+study+of+emotion.+Further+theoretical+and+practical+benefits+may+come+from+further+work+based+on+this+design-based+approach+to+consciousness.+A+deeper+longer+term+implication+is+the+possibility+of+a+new+science+investigating+laws+governing+possible+trajectories+in+design+space+and+niche+space%2C+as+these+form+parts+of+high+order+feedback+loops+in+the+biosphere.&rft.date=1998-03&rft.type=Preprint&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpostscript&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F695%2F2%2FSloman.consciousness.evolution.ps&rft.identifier=++Sloman%2C+Aaron++(1998)+The+evolution+of+what%3F++%5BPreprint%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F695%2F