MIND IN EVOLUTION

We can be very confident that our earth has supported a continuous process of the evolution of the structure of living organisms. More tentatively, we can also trace how the `internal' dimensions of animals -- their minds -- have evolved. It is fairly clear that the capacity of animals' minds has been limited by the size, complexity, and degree of centralisation of their nervous systems, so that the evolution of physical form has constrained the evolution of mind. But has the

feedback worked in the other direction too? Did mind play an active role in evolution, or was the human mind just `an accidental afterthought in a quirky evolutionary play', as the biologist S.J. Gould puts it?

Natural selection leads to increasing adaptation to a specific environment; it tends to promote specialisation. In the mind, specialisation is served by very specific inborn habits and instincts, which evolve by natural selection. But mind has an element which works in the opposite direction, particularly if individual learning and cultural traditions are possible: mind can be flexible. It can adapt an animal by coming up with behaviours that suit unexpected circumstances.

Because of its great adaptability, it turns out that mind has indeed been active in evolution. In particular, through behaviour, it can influence the process of natural selection itself. Apparently, behaviour can direct selection.

From Ch. 3 of The Evolving Mind, by Robin Cooper.

Illustration by Andy Gammon

Extract 5: Levels in the evolution of self-awareness

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