Citation

Author Website

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carolyn_Ristau/info

Commentary Type

Invited Commentary

Thread

Arthur S. Reber, Caterpillars, consciousness and the origins of mind

Abstract

According to Reber’s model, Cellular Basis of Consciousness (CBC), sentience had its origins in a unicellular organism and is an inherent property of living, mobile organic forms. He argues by analogy to basic physical forces which he considers to be inherent properties of matter; I suggest that they are instead the stuff of scientific investigation in physics. I find no convincing argument that sentience had to begin in endogenously mobile cells, a criterial attribute of the originator cell(s)for sentience according to CBC. Non-endogenously mobile cells, (i.e., plants or precursors) in a moving environment would suffice. Despite my concerns and the need for at least a small “miracle” in his and others’ models to instantiate sentience, I applaud a bottom-up approach such as Reber’s for our scientific investigation of consciousness.

Author Biography

Carolyn A. Ristau is primarily a cognitive ethologist. Her research includes field studies of cognition and communication in human infants and non-humans, in particular primates and plovers. Other work entails explorations of human conflicts and community, predominantly in Africa. 251-25 Gaskell Road, Little Neck, NY 11362 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Carolyn_Ristau/info

DOI

10.51291/2377-7478.1161