The self as phenotype.
Philippe Rochat
Consciousness and Cognition March 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2010.09.012 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that minimal self-awareness is the phenotypic expression of gene-environment interaction and co-emerges with feeling (subjective) experience, which newborns possess. This minimal self-awareness is then rapidly supplemented by conceptual and ethical awareness defined in relation to others. |
Abstract
Self-awareness is viewed here as the phenotypic expression of an interaction between genes and the environment. Brain and behavioral development of fetuses and newborn infants are a rich source of information regarding what might constitute minimal self-awareness. Research indicates that newborns have feeling (subjective) experience. Unlike automata, they do not just sense and respond to proximal stimulations. In light of the explosive brain growth that takes place inside and outside of the womb, first signs of feeling as opposed to sensing experience are discussed. Feeling experience is considered as the necessary condition for having minimal self-awareness. Both would co-emerge in development. However, minimal self-awareness is rapidly supplemented with an awareness that is not just perceptual, but also conceptual and ethical, primarily defined in relation to and by others.
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Self‐Awareness Part 1: Definition, Measures, Effects, Functions, and Antecedents Social and Personality Psychology Compass October 1, 2011
- Developmental Roots of Human Self-consciousness Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience July 1, 2024
- Subjectivity: A Case of Biological Individuation and an Adaptive Response to Informational Overflow. Frontiers in Psychology August 9, 2016