Qualia & Natural Selection: Formal Constraints on the Evolution of Consciousness
arXiv Preprint Archive April 23, 2025 preprint
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Qualitative |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Consciousness awareness Sentience Cognition Evolutionary biology q-bio.pe Natural selection Adaptation Qualia subjective experience Information theory q-bio.nc Data analysis Mathematical modeling |
| Key points | Derives formal conditions under which structural systems subject to natural selection can convey consistent effects in an associated qualitative domain, placing constraints on theories of consciousness. |
Abstract
This paper explores foundational questions about the relationship of qualia to natural selection. The primary result is a derivation of specific formal conditions under which structural systems subject to natural selection can convey consistent effects in an associated qualitative domain, placing theoretical and empirical constraints on theories of consciousness. In order to achieve this result, information-theoretic measures are developed to quantify the mutual determinability between structure and quality, quantifying fidelity between the two domains. The fidelities represented by that space are then incorporated into the Price Equation to yield key bounds on the transmission of selective effects between domains. Finally, transmission of higher-order structures between domains is explored. Placement within a broader philosophical context can be found in the companion paper Structure & Quality.