Carolyn Ristau has done a fine job summarizing the work and life of the zoologist Donald Griffin. Most scientists now accept the existence of animal sentience, but identifying which species possess consciousness remains controversial. Griffin defined consciousness as "the subjective state of feeling or thinking about objects and events.” Nonconscious processes are faster and more...
AbstractConsciousness is a property of advanced brains and as such a biological feature. Explaining biological features is somewhat different from explaining physical phenomena; in the former case, the key is to first define its functional role (the reason why it was selected) and then to outline the evolutionary trajectory leading to its presence. In the case of consciousness, there are...
Definition: Most multicellular animals have a nervous system that is based on the following three components: 1) Sensory cells gather information and send it to processing units; 2) the processing units use the information to decide on what action to take; and 3) effector neurons activate the appropriate muscles. Due to the importance of making the right decisions, evolution made profound...
Buddhism is one of the oldest spiritual traditions that have retained considerable influence. The Tibetan version offers distinct advice as to the pursuit of happiness. The present text evaluates this advice in the context of a biological approach to understand what happiness is. Briefly, the notion that it is possible to develop the brain's capacity for positive feelings, and that meditative...