5 papers in the library · 42 citations · publishing 2006-2026
Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2026 Colin Allen
Abstract No one is in a position to say what really matters for consciousness, or whether only living systems can instantiate the complexity needed for conscious feelings. Seth’s attempt to connect life to consciousness through the mathematics of active inference and free energy minimization plays one hunch, but it is too soon to say whether it is the best hunch.
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences November 13, 2025 W. Tecumseh Fitch, Colin Allen, Adina L. Roskies 4 citations
did consciousness evolve? Assuming that some species (e.g. humans) have consciousness and others (e.g. redwoods or mushrooms) do not, what problem(s) did consciousness evolve to solve? From a biological and evolutionary viewpoint, and regardless of which species have consciousness (or to what degree), this question of the adaptive function(s) of consciousness is central. Nonetheless, the...
BioScience August 25, 2017 Dylan Black, Colin Allen 2 citations
Todd Feinberg, professor of psychiatry and neurology, and Jon Mallatt, professor of biology and medical sciences, have written a fascinating book that will both appeal to and agitate readers from a range of disciplines. The book tries to shed light on some of the more puzzling features of consciousness and in particular to bridge the infamous “explanatory gap” between neuroscience and the...
International Journal of Machine Consciousness June 1, 2011 Wendell Wallach, Colin Allen, Stan Franklin 36 citations
What roles or functions does consciousness fulfill in the making of moral decisions? Will artificial agents capable of making appropriate decisions in morally charged situations require machine consciousness? Should the capacity to make moral decisions be considered an attribute essential for being designated a fully conscious agent? Research on the prospects for developing machines capable of...
Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science January 15, 2006 Colin Allen
Abstract Observable similarities between humans and other animals with respect to behavior and neurology, as well as considerations related to evolutionary continuity between species, underlie most opinions that animals have conscious experiences. The attempt to understand other forms of consciousness – other species of mind – may help us to understand the evolutionary roots of our own.