On the evolutionary dynamics of complexity and consciousness
Frontiers in Complex Systems January 6, 2026 DOI: 10.3389/fcpxs.2025.1672525 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Consciousness Evolutionary dynamics Qualia Artificial life Dynamics music Biological evolution Cognitive science Epistemology Complex system Evolutionary theory |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | The evolution of basic phenomenal awareness, like life itself, is characterized by a time-asymmetrical dynamic toward greater complexity, consistent with entropic growth. |
Abstract
The perennial debate about the possible directionality of evolution, as indicated by the apparent increase in the complexity of living systems over time, has recently witnessed renewed arguments in favor of the growth of complexity being “entropic,” that is, consistent with the growth of entropy as it is construed in thermodynamics. Here, I offer a brief review of formal treatments of complexity and of evolutionary mechanisms that are capable of causing it to increase. I then propose that both the evolutionary emergence and the individual learning of basic phenomenal awareness, a type of consciousness, are characterized by the same time-asymmetrical dynamics. Like life itself, biological consciousness arguably evolves towards greater complexity, and for the same reasons.