Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences
November 13, 2025
Kristin Andrews, Noam Miller
3 citations
We present the social origins of consciousness hypothesis, according to which the ability to coordinate with group members was the original adaptive function of consciousness. We offer three arguments. The phylogenetic argument presumes that consciousness is widespread among existing animals, and that widespread capacities are probably evolutionarily old. Early animals relied on consciousness...
Science
February 21, 2025
Kristin Andrews, Jonathan Birch, Jeff Sebo
29 citations
An emerging field shows how animal feelings can be studied scientifically.
Mind & Language
January 4, 2024
Kristin Andrews
The marker approach is taken as best practice for answering the distribution question: Which animals are conscious? However, the methodology can be used to increase confidence in animals many presume to be unconscious, including C. elegans, leading to a trilemma: accept the worms as conscious; reject the specific markers; or reject the marker methodology for answering the distribution question....
Current Biology
August 1, 2023
Joseph E LeDoux, Jonathan Birch, Kristin Andrews et al.
There is growing interest in the relationship been AI and consciousness. Joseph LeDoux and Jonathan Birch thought it would be a good moment to put some of the big questions in this area to some leading experts. The challenge of addressing the questions they raised was taken up by Kristin Andrews, Nicky Clayton, Nathaniel Daw, Chris Frith, Hakwan Lau, Megan Peters, Susan Schneider, Anil Seth,...
Consciousness
January 23, 2003
Kristin Andrews
Abstract: The Machiavellian intelligence hypothesis promotes the view that cognition, and with it consciousness, is an evolutionary adaptation that arose owing to the complexities of social life (Humphrey 1976; Whiten and Byrne 1988). According to this view, we have knowledge of our own minds because we needed to have knowledge of others’ minds. We needed to be able to predict what others were...