Pathological complexity and African elephant consciousness
Adaptive Behavior May 6, 2025 DOI: 10.1177/10597123251340889 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Case report Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Veit's (2023) Darwinian, abduction-based framework for modelling varieties of consciousness can be illustrated through African elephants, and that the alleged 'hard problem' of consciousness is an artefact of ignoring the evolutionary mechanisms by which complex consciousness arose under selection pressure. The elephant case is proposed to help specify the anthropocentrism Veit criticises. |
Abstract
Veit (2023) provides a framework for modelling and empirically investigating varieties of consciousness as a Darwinian phenomenon, based on abduction from life histories of animals. The alleged ‘hard problem’ is exposed as an artefact of ignoring mechanisms by which increasingly complex varieties of consciousness evolved under selection pressure over evolutionary time. I illustrate Veit’s approach through a case study of a highly complex but non-human variety, consciousness in African elephants. This is useful for specifying more exactly the kind of anthropocentrism that Veit criticises.