[04.01] Quantum theory

190 Notions of consciousness in quantum mind theories
Imants Baruss <baruss@uwo.ca> (Psychology, King's University College, London, Ontario, Canada)

As an application and extension of my previous work to categorize the notions of consciousness in the ordinary waking state (Baruss, 1990), the purpose of this paper is to examine the notions of consciousness that occur in several different quantum mind theories. Mari Jibu, Kunio Yasue, and Yasushi Takahashi (2004)have relied on the notion of consciousness1 (the behaviorally manifested capacity for discrimination of environmental stimuli and acting upon them in a goal-directed manner) in their Quantum Brain Dynamics theory of memory as a spinor field underlying cortical electric dipoles in which quantum mechanical tunnelling instantiates memory decay and the creation of Goldstone bosons is the process of memory recall. For Henry Stapp, Jeffrey Schwartz, and Mario Beauregard (2004), it is the attention density of subjective consciousness2 (the subjective experiential stream characterized by intentionality that goes on privately for a person) which modulates neural activity through the agency of the quantum Zeno effect. Ian Marshall (1989) has paid particular attention to consciousness3 (the sense of existence that one has subjectively for oneself) when he has posited the indistinguishability of bosons in the brain to account for the continuity of the identity of the subject of mental acts. I extend my original metanalysis of definitions of consciousness to take into account notions of consciousness in altered states such as those Marshall associates with ground states of Frohlich's Bose-Einstein-like condensates. More dramatically, although Evan Harris Walker (2000) has conceptualized subjective consciousness2 as the interlaced quantum mechanical tunneling of electrons originating from macromolecules located within neural post-synaptic membranes, he has also hypothesized, as previously have I (Baruss, 1986), the existence of a separate volitional component of quantum measurement that brings physical reality into existence. I propose the notion of deep consciousness as a pre-physical substrate akin to David Bohm and Basil Hiley's (1993) implicate order from which physical manifestation could arise prior to decoherence effects. Such a conjecture is at least in the spirit of Hans-Peter Durr's (2005) injunction that quantum theory move beyond being just a deformation of classical mechanics and Diederik Aerts and Sven Aerts (2005) contention that space itself, along with macroscopic material, emerges from a microworld. I use descriptions of transcendent states of consciousness given by Franklin Wolff (1994) and John Wren-Lewis (1994) to theorize about the characteristics that could be associated with the notion of deep consciousness. In this manner the original definitions of consciousness can be extended to encompass phenomena associated with quantum mind theories. C12
 
191 The complex number space of brain's self and Bohm's mind-matter theory
Matti Bergstrom, Ikonen, Pia <juliasbrain@kolumbus.fi> (Helsinki University, Espoo, Finland)

The physicist David Bohm presented a new theory of the relationship of mind and matter (1986, 1990). He founded this theory on his own work on relativity and quantum theory, where he developed the concept of "implicate" order, which means that the whole of the universe is enfolded in everything, so that everything implicates everything. In the explicate order, which dominates our experience and thinking, each thing is seen as separate. Bohm's basic proposal is that the implicate order is the more fundamental order and common to both mind and matter, so that these two are not as different as they may appear. Bohm made use of his ontological interpretation of quantum theory (Bohm and Hiley 1993): the Schrodinger wave function contains information which acts upon particles, so that their movements cannot be wholly determined by their local interactions. Instead, a nonlocal factor, a quantum potential Q, is involved . Bohm considers the wave-function as analogous to "mind", and the local particles and their microscopic behaviour ("dance") in the physical space as corresponding to "matter". In the end, mind and matter are not separate but forming the same common process. In earlier presentations in conferences on consciousness (Skovde 2001, Tucson 2002 and 2004, Copenhagen 2005) we presented an empirically based mathematical model of the brains limbic "Self", where the system between brain stem and neocortical effects (MacLean 1973) was considered as an empty border. The Self is a 2-dimensional (i,r)-space: r is a real number dimension recording the physical environmental effects via cortex, i is an imaginary number dimension (Bergstrom 1964) recording the effects of mental feelings and values via brain stem. The Self-space is a complex number space, reflecting the interaction between "mental", brain stem macrostates and cortically mediated "physical" microstates (Bergstrom 1967, 1972, 1986). The objective microstate is represented in the r-dimension. But because the observer is involved, the situation also has a projection on the i-dimension. The observed particle moves (in nonpredictable "dance") in the (i,r) space, where the i-dimension describes "active information" in observer's mental nonlocal "consciousness potential" (Bohms Q-potential). Since the i-projection of the perceived particle describes the mental content and the r-projection the physical content, we can say with Bohm that mind and matter are not separated but forming the same common process. The square root of (-1) of the observers i-dimensional mental Self is the main obstacle for the r-dimensional physics and its r-mathematics to penetrate to the fundamental reality of mind and matter. Our results indicate that implicate order is imaginary order. In our earlier model of the Self-space in the brain (see above references) we have a 3:rd dimension (p) for free "possibilities" of mental acts of the subject. Since the word "tempus" originally means "opportunity" (possibility), this p-dimension apparently describes time, not the physical, but the imaginary time (simultaneous, as in the "Child-brain") described by Hawking. P10

192 The power of energy medicine: restoring health and balance with meridian therapy
Carol Look <Carol@CarolLook.com> (New York, New York)

Energy Medicine is creating breakthroughs in therapeutic outcomes by neutralizing the ravaging effects of trauma and anxiety that debilitate the body, mind, and soul. Many of these cutting edge methods leverage the client's innate body/mind intelligence by accessing and re-integrating the "stuck" energy from trauma, anxiety, and emotional conflict that has been stored in the limbic region of the brain. While still under study, empirical results for Meridian Therapy and other Energy Medicine techniques are deeply encouraging and have repeatedly demonstrated that these methods have enhanced therapeutic outcomes dramatically. Based on the ancient and brilliant principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Meridian Therapy allows both clinician and patient to enter the body's acupuncture meridian system without needles by using a mild percussive tapping on the acupuncture points. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, illness is brought about by blockages, or stuck energy in the body and mind. Inserting needles in prescribed body points allows the stuck energy and blockages to be released, thereby restoring the body's ability to resume its natural healing processes. Meridian Therapy, combined with intention and appropriate methods to orient the client's consciousness, activates the original event, trauma, or conflict and makes it available for neutralization and reprocessing through the acupressure tapping. Accessing, neutralizing, and "metabolizing" the trauma and anxiety brings emotional, physical, and spiritual relief to the client. This poster session will provide a model for integrating Meridian Therapy with traditional forms of psychotherapeutic work with unconscious conflicts and conscious processing for releasing trauma and anxiety. The poster session will address emotional states, neural networks/connections, chemical habits, and trigger memories that disrupt psycho-social functioning. The session will demonstrate how to diffuse the complex clusters of stress factors that may precipitate re-traumatization and emotional disintegration and demonstrate how to restore health and balance with Meridian Therapy. Clinical treatment considerations include models of addiction treatment, affective disorders, secondary gains, and relapse triggers. P10

193 Large extra dimensions: a tight squeeze for Orch-OR?
Jonas Mureika <jmureika@lmu.edu> (Physics, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA)

The Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR) model of consciousness relies on a Newtonian gravity-driven mechanism to collapse superposed quantum states (qubits). Recent developments in high energy physics have suggested that the apparent weakness of gravity as compared to the other fundamental forces may arise from the existence of extra spatial dimensions into which only gravitations can propagate. Furthermore, it has been proposed that these dimensions need not be Planck scale, but rather may be as large as a few micrometers in size. The existence of such large extra dimensions modifies the behavior of Newtonian gravitation below these length scales, and thus could have a critical impact on the viability of the Orch-OR model. Is is demonstrated that extra dimensions larger than 100 femtometers in size can compromise the model's candidacy for conscious phenomena. If the dimensions are on the order of 10 femtometers in size, then a significantly smaller number of qubits are required to form a pre-conscious correlate. Implications for the evolution of consciousness are also possible, based on the notion that the size of the extra dimensions may have been changing over the history of the Universe. C12

194 Quantum theory and conscious experience
Thomas Schumann <tschuman@calpoly.edu> (Physics, California Polytechnic State University , San Luis Obispo, California)

According to quantum thory the state of a system can consist of a superposition of mutually exclusive possiblities, such as possible energies or possible locations. When the system is observed, one of these characteristics becomes "real" - that is, one of the possibilities is actually observed - with a probability that depends on the original state, before the observation. We compare this situation to a dream for which the brain determining the dream also produces the non-local hidden variables which determine which of the characteristics is actually observed. The variables of the brain are hidden because during the dream, the brain which produces the dream is not observed by the dreamer. If one dreams of a mountain, one may ask what lies behind the mountain, is there a jungle or is there a desert? There is no meaningful answer until the other side of the mountain is observed in the dream and then the answer is certain, just as in quantum physics for a superposition of possibilities, no possibility is real until it is observed and then it is certain. We consider examples and arguments to fortify this model for quantum physics. P4

195 Further support for the radical subjective solution of the measurement problem
Stephen Whitmarsh, Dr. Dick J. Bierman <9933875@student.uva.nl> (Psychology Psychonomics, University of Amsterdam, Kortenhoef, Netherlands)

In an earlier experiment we compared the evoked brain potentials caused by observation of an auditory beep in two conditions. In the first condition the beep was triggered by quantum event and, after a delay of about a second, presented to the observer (O2). In the second condition the beep was also triggered by a quantum event but immediately pre-observed (O1) and then, after the same delay, presented to the same observer (O2). Trials were mixed and the condition of a beep (pre-observed or not) was unknown to the observer (O2). Significant differences were established for some early peak amplitudes. I.e. in the region where the processing of the beep by (O2) was still non conscious. It was suggested that the difference in brain potentials was due to the fact that conscious (pre-) observation was responsible for the collapse of the state-vector suggesting that the brains of (O2) were capable of discriminating between a superposition and a singular state. In a follow up experiment also classical events were used. For these events there shouldn't be an effect of pre-observation. This was confirmed. However that experiment failed also to give some support to the earlier findings. I.e. the effect of pre-observation in the quantum condition was not replicated. To elucidate the reasons for this discrepancy a third experiment was set up along the same lines with two observers participating. That experiment is still work in progress. Parallel to that experiment a new approach was started. We realized that there is no need for two observers in the experiment because an observer can be his or her own pre-observer. We call this eigen-observation. Thus we compared the brain signals of beeps that were presented the first time after the quantum trigger with beeps that were presented again after the first beep. Great care was taken to maintain exactly the same time-interval distributions for the first and the second (eigen-preobserved) beep. Evoked brain potentials arising from observation of first and second beep were compared. At the time of submission we have measured 19 subjects and significant differences of max. 2 microvolts are found at several locations on the scalp but most clearly in the parietal parts of the brain around 50 milliseconds after stimulus onset. These results do suggest a crucial role of consciousness in collapsing the state vector and thereby provide support for the radical subjective solution of the measurement problem. C12

[04.02] Space and time

196 Temporology, category theory, and the scientific study of consciousness: Interdisciplinary bridging principles for your methodological toolbox
Erik Douglas <erik@temporality.org> (Philosophy, University of Texas, Portland, OR)

This talk addresses three of five goals associated with its corresponding textual material (with the above headline as working title  to be submitted to the JCS in 2004). To begin, I introduce temporology as a sibling problem set of the science of consciousness and outline some of the key issues relevant to the latter's study: i.e., the plurality of meanings of time from across "3rd person" and "1st person" domains; the distinction between time, space and space-time; structural aspects of these models; the conflation of possibility and potentiality; the origin of the so-called "arrow of time" and its conflation with direction; as well as the nature and meaning of transience and its further conflation with presence. With respect to each of these issues, I also sketch their significance for any comprehensive scientific model of consciousness. There has been a tacit recognition that the issues of time bear importantly on the nature of consciousness since the inception of its formalized study  c.f., Metzinger's (1995)  but with only a few exceptions, there has been negligible progress made during the interim decade. It is my second goal here to review and highlight these few key developments to outline what will (hopefully) become a viable research programme within the interdisciplinary science of consciousness studies. The aforementioned developments include methodological attempts to bridge neuroscience with phenomenology (cf. Varela, Gallagher, et al.), a range of psychophysical, neurophysiological and parapsychological empirical studies (cf. Libet, Radin, et al.), assorted ontological models (cf. Hameroff, Penrose, et al.), as well as direct attempts to integrate the issues of time and consciousness (cf. Novak, Smythies, Sanfey, Douglas, et al. ) this list is not intended to be exhaustive. The third goal of this talk lies implicitly in the demonstration of the methodology I employ to frame the above questions, conjectures and problem-sets: category theory. Not only does the "language" of category theory provide a very accessible and intuitively relevant mode in which to conduct interdisciplinary discussions about such disparate and prima facie unrelated notions as introduced above, it moreover manages to do so with an unsurpassed rigour that is on par with set theory and symbolic logic. If category theory is powerful enough to produce an analytically robust synthesis of temporology, physics, neuroscience and phenomenology, then it clearly suggests itself as a first-rate candidate for the many other necessary interdisciplinary, conceptual integrations necessary for any further, important successes in the discipline of consciousness studies. For lack of time, I will only touch upon the fourth and fifth noted goals, which comprise ideas I develop in more detail elsewhere, but which nonetheless bear importantly on the content of this presentation. Briefly, I introduce two intimate (possibly essential) conceptual relationships that follow naturally from my adopted approach: the first relates transience (the "flow of time") with agency (consciousness), and the second demonstrates a deep correspondence between the ostensible direction of time and intentionality. P4

197 Towards physical interpretation of complex spacetime based models of non-local consciousness.
Anatoly Goldstein <a_goldshteyn@yahoo.com> (Voice Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Swampscott, MA)

It is shown that qualitative concept of consciousness functioning beyond space (L. LeShan, 2004) can be interpreted in terms of at least two known quantitative models. The first one is a geometric model of remote viewing based on 8D complex Minkowski spacetime (CMST) allowing a connection of zero distance between any two points leading to psi non-locality (Rauscher-Targ, 2001). Longitudinal electromagnetic waves, predicted based on CMST model (E. Rauscher, 1983), were produced experimentally by Saari & Reivelt (1997). The 2nd model follows from ADS/CFT correspondence (J. Maldacena,1997,2004), leading to a conclusion that "spacetime and everything in it emerges dynamically from the interaction of the particles living on the boundary" (holography in string theory context). This allows us to assume that consciousness functionality is originated within spacetime boundary. We can get an idea of physical meaning of complex coordinates from the works of E.T.Newman(1974,2002) who while treating real Maxwell Field and real linearized Einstein's General Relativity equations as imbedded in CMST for a particle having non-zero mass & charge proved that:"particle's magnetic moment and intrinsic spin arise as a "shadow" or "projection" into the real, of a particle moving in the complex spacetime"; the particle's magnetic moment arises from its displacement into imaginary center of charge; classical relativistic spin-angular momentum can be interpreted as arising from the paticle's displacement into imaginary center of mass; if the complex centers of mass & charge coincide, "the gyromagnetic ratio is that of the Dirac electron". We are suggesting 2 hypothetic models of consciousness based on CMST, Newman's findings and the concept of active information (D. Bohm,1990). The first model assumes that CMST includes a Platonia-like world (see also S. Hameroff, 1998; B. Josephson, 2003) in which active information processes are running that support consciousness and are similar to a known process of rapid oscillations of imaginary part of electron position termed zitterbewegung. Electron spin, being a function of imaginary coordinates of CMST, may play a role in conscious information exchange. This is in agreement with spin-mediated theory of consciousness (H.Hu & M.Wu, 2002) assuming that unpaired electrons of oxygen bi-radicals contribute to information exchange in brain by means of spin-spin coupling. Our model suggests that magnetic moment of the oxygen electron, representing another function of imaginary coordinates of CMST may be responsible for known effects of magnetic field on gambling results in the days of geo-magnetic anomalies (D. Radin, 1997). To formulate the second model as a modification of the first one we: 1) accept a known hypothesis that consciousness can survive death (P. van Lommel, 2001); 2) interpret the law of correspondence (E. Swedenborg, 1756) of all events in the physical world to the events in the spiritual world, located "not in space", by modeling spiritual world with active information processes running in complex spacetime, their projection into real coordinates representing observable physical processes. Swedenborg's spiritual concepts might become more useful for science of consciousness if we try to map his theological vocabulary to scientific, e.g. if we rename "angel" to "conscious life form" (CLF) that survived death as assumed above. An image of a human is a property not only of individual CLF, but it also represents CLF societies up to the level of heaven as a whole that looks like a large man. This author concludes that Swedenborg's heaven has properties of holographic film and therefore Maldacena's holographic ADS/CFT correspondence may represent a string-theoretic version of Swedenborg's law of correspondence. Therefore 4D spacetime & its contents seem to be dynamically generated from the holographic film, represented by the CLF societies & surrounding "landscapes", functioning in complex spacetime. P4

198 Constraints on a physical explanation of consciousness arising from the dynamics of observation within a continuum of change
John Sanfey <johnsanfey@mac.com> (Alvaston Medical Centre, derby, uk)

It is possible to deduce certain unique properties of consciousness by examining the general dynamics of one continuously changing physical system observing another. The physical world is indeed in a state of continuous change, according to both relativity and quantum theories. In the former, something at rest with regard to its space co-ordinates is moving through time; the opposite is true in the case of light. In quantum theory on the other hand, a particle whose space co-ordinates are known to be at rest, cannot, paradoxically, have zero momentum, because of the uncertainty principle. If consciousness has a physical explanation other than a panpsychist one, then it too must be a continuously changing process. Another constraint to be considered arises from causation. The causal structure of space-time given to us by general relativity means that when A causes B, it must be in the past of B (or vice-versa). This is also true in quantum theory, despite its probabilistic nature and non-locality; quantum theory always uses a time continuum in which A and B are at different times when they are causally related. With these two constraints as the initial premises, the following deductive argument identifies a unique property of consciousness, which is defined in physical terms: (i) Physical reality, external to the mind of an observer, meets our senses as a process of continuous change from A to B such that A causes B, and is in the past of B: (ii) Any duration of time, even an infinitesimal one, that is external to the mind of the observer, can only be experienced such that the beginning of the duration, is re-created by the mechanism of consciousness: (iii) Anything that exists physically, must occupy a volume of space-time: (iv) Consequently, something that exists outside the mind must occupy duration of time: (v) Given (ii) and (iv), something external to the mind of an observer, occupies duration of time in a manner determined by the mechanism of human consciousness: (vi) The subsequent, theoretical representation of something separated from the observer by space-time, requires some conceptual device that is functionally equivalent to this function of human consciousness. Consciousness contributes something to the manifestation of the external world, something diachronic. Anything external to the mind, that occupies duration, does so because of a specific diachronic contribution by consciousness. This rather Kantian conclusion, means that consciousness performs a physical task, which in turn makes it possible to develop a physical explanation of consciousness, based upon axiomatic principle. Sanfey, J.J (2003), 'Reality, and those who perceive it'. In The nature of time: geometry, physics, and perception. R. Buccheri, M. Saniga, W.M. Stuckey, (eds.) NATO Science Series. Dordrecht. Kluwer Academic Press. Sanfey, J.J (2005), 'The mind in physics'. In Endophysics, time, quantum and the subjective; R. Buccheri. A.C. Elitzur and M. Saniga (eds.); pp 531546. Singapore. World Scientific Publishing Co. P10

199 A new angle on the neural correlates of consciousness: Insights from Maharishi Vedic science
David Scharf <dscharf108@gmail.com> (Mathematical Sciences, Maharishi University of Management, Fairfield, IA)

The search for the neural correlates of consciousness has proceeded largely on the basis of assumptions grounded in classical physics. Tracing the neural mechanisms of perception to their cortical destinations, for example, has seemed to many to define the paradigm for research in consciousness. However, this approach leads to untenable paradoxes such as those associated with the brain-in-a-vat scenerios critiqued in depth by Hilary Putnam, among others. Recent proposals by a number of researchers have sought for a quantum mechanical basis for consciousness. Since quantum theory represents our most advanced theory of matter, it makes sense to look for the neural correlates of consciousness in quantum physics. One promising proposal, put forward by Hammeroff and Penrose, looks to the neuronal microtubules as a plausible site for the anticipated quantum neuroscience. Discussions of quantum measurementsince the time of Niels Bohr and the other founders of modern quantum theoryhave more often than not pointed to the complementarity and interdependence of consciousness and the objective world as constituting an essential part of the resolution of the fundamental issues of quantum physics. In this context, the quantum-microtubule hypothesis, and the approach of quantum neuroscience generally, have considerable merit. Not surprisingly, given the paradigm-busting character of the Hameroff/Penrose hypothesis, it has been vigorously contested on a number of grounds. The most important of these objections is that the measurement reduction is a mysterious and controversial phenomenon in physics proper and will, therefore, not help shed light on the problem of consciousness. Against this backdrop it will be helpful to consider that the Eastern tradition has long investigated what may usefully be termed the quantum mechanical nature of inner experience, particularly transcendental consciousness and higher states of consciousness. The question of neural correlates compels us to address features of experience that defy a material construal, where matter is understood in terms of classical physics. Thus, features such as the meaningful (although non-causal) interconnectedness of apparently diverse phenomena as well as the unity of personal experience and the ultimate binding problemthe unanalyzable character of self-awareness, particularly as it becomes increasingly prominent in higher states, all suggest a quantum mechanical elucidation. This quantum mechanical elucidation is supplied with a coherent framework by Maharishi Vedic Science, whose insights express the relational and holistic interdependence of consciousness, the brain and the external world. On the basis of this understanding, it becomes easier to understand why neuroscience derived from advanced physicsand substantiated by transcendental experiences and associated higher states of consciousnessprovides an integrated understanding of the relationship of consciousness and the objective world. Finally, we will review recent work by Travis, et al, which documents the neurophysiological correlates of transcendental experiences and thereby opens the way for a quantitative evaluation of higher states of consciousness. P11

[04.03] Integrative models

200 Dynamic core mathematics for complex systems and delocalization of consciousness
Vadim Astakhov <vadim_astakhov@hotmail.com> (UCSD, San Diego, CA)

My purpose in this paper is to illustrate broad application of "Dynamic Core" hypothesis mathematically defined in G. Tononi and G. M. Edelman. I collected statistical data for three different none-linear systems such as EEG data from binocular rivalry experiment, routing data from Internet and simulation cosmology data about early stages of our Universe. I apply same statistical formalism proposed by "Dynamic Core" hypothesis and found dynamic similarities in terms of Dynamic Core functional clusters and complexity that emerge in all three systems. Also, I demonstrate that simple holographic model implemented by neural network can emulate "functional cluster" in none-linear system with multiple elements. System can act as if the cluster exists at the time when the actual cluster is not active. This lead me to suggestion that either Dynamic Core formalism should be extended to catch unique aspects of brain dynamics or term "Consciousness" can we explored for other complex systems (not particular brain). P4

201 A heuristic model of consciousness: as seen by the philosopher-coach
Jesse Bettinger <jessbett@hotmail.com> (The Stone House Conference Center // Men's Soccer, University of Southern Maine // St. Joseph's College, Freeport, Maine, United States of America)

Building off of the Logic and representation of Minkowski spacetime with a Lockwood signature; and implementing certain select features of Peirce's phenomenology in tangent with recent discoveries made from MIT SpaceLab concerning Black Hole theory; and simplifying the recent Neuroquantological theory of De and Pal; and including select neuroscientific issues such as memory, attention, learning acquisition, and perception---- in order to arrive at a premier model of what stands potential as an all-inclusive, systematic venture into the science of consciousness. Among the abilities of this model, I will also run through the different philosophical issues that the model appears to clear up in the domain of "pure" philosophy as well as the philosophy of physics, mathematics, and quantum mechanics. Such problems to be dealt with here include: free will and determinism, volition and agency, infinitesimals & asymmetries (Peirce, Putnam, Bergson, and Auspitz), the Cainopythagorean categories, semiotics, set-categorical theory; entropy, syntropy and neg-entropy. The real decisive factor though comes by virtue of an implementation of an "x-factor" in regards to the discourse on qualia. What I attempt to do is instill a (potentially) mathematical signature on information processing by virtue of a type of "chromatic scale" (think sound, not color, as in: "the chromatic scale") that acts just like electrons do in a quantum field, demonstrating the properties of emergence, gravitation, decay, charge, and coupling. Also, i will attempt to reconcile the language and concepts that underwrite the Yang-Mills theory (such as Mass gap, quark confinement, and chiral symmetry breaking) within the logic of the proposed model in order to show the logical symmetry that appears to hold. In addition to these features, I will also demonstrate the compulsory, Hyperbolic/Process nature of the model, using specific features of the philosophical discourses of Whitehead, Russell, Peirce, and Hegel, to name the major theorists. As an initial "test" of the model I have gone through a philosophical dictionary and found an extraordinary yield of logical symmetries between theorists of philosophy and religion from the earliest recorded times to the present. I will share these findings in the paper that accompanies the model/poster as an appendix. Overall, I am suggesting that with the help of other seasoned veterans in the fields that comprise mind theory, there stands to be unveiled a new basis for to house all future matters of consciousness and well as an organizational basis for all that has come before. Also, I believe that the model has the ability to filter between which current theories hold water and which ones might be lacking in approach. The model also deals with ontological issues of consciousness. What becomes clear is that the model is a systems theory of consciousness which holds a great potential not only for mind theory but also for philosophy, science, mathematics, and religion. In addition there is another signature to the model which holds for soccer and life, which I call the Miller-Bettinger model. I will also give props to my teacher, Dr. Schwanauer, throughout the paper. P5

202 The hard problem of matter, Baars notion of subjectivity, and bolstering the relevance of consciousness in science
Bhausaheb Biradar <intense_quest@yahoo.com> (Bhaktivedanta Institute, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)

In the landscape of Consciousness Studies there are but only a few major questions, and all the debate revolves around them: Why are we conscious, how does brain give rise to consciousness, what is the ontology of consciousness, where can we localize consciousness, when can we regard a system as a conscious one? However, as an upshot of limiting our pursuit to these questions we have been missing out on one extremely crucial issue. The issue is the following: How is it that dead and inanimate matter (anything in the external world) can give me subjective conscious experiences? I shall call this the Hard problem of matter. Physics has apparently never addressed this problem so far. And the idea that some property of matter (in its superposed state) is invoked in its intyeraction with consciousness (and thus the collapse of wave function), adhering to the Copenhagen Interpretation of quantum theory, supports the legitimacy of the Hard problem of matter. In the second part of the poster I take issue with Bernard Baars' "much more relaxed view of subjectivity" (Baars 1996). He says that instead of "what it is like to be" criteria subjectivity should mean "the self as observer of conscious experiences.". I argue that this doesn't go too far, since this notion misses out the defining characteristic of subjectivity, namely the qualia. Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen's 1935 paper "Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?" created ripples in the already turbulent enterprise of quantum mechanics. In their paper they conduct a thought experiment (which presently stands experimentally corroborated) and the result is known as the EPR Paradox, where the paradox is the instantaneous flow of information that violates the fundamental adage of Einstein's Theory of Relativity that nothing can travel faster than light. Here, I bring to the notice one important aspect in the formalism of quantum theory, which alludes to the idea that there might not be after all an instantaneous flow of information in Einstein el al's EPR Paradox. The upshot of my argumment is that it bolsters the relevance of consciousness in quantum physics and attempts to dissolve the mystery of instantaneous flow of information in EPR Paradox. References: 1) Baars B.J. 1996. Understanding subjectivity: Global workspace theory and the resurrection of the observing self. Journal of Consciousness Studies 3:211-17. 2) Einstein, A., Podolsky, B., and Rosen, N., (1935) "Can Quantum mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?", Physical Review, 47: 777-780. P7

203 Human consciousness as an ontological solution in search of an epistemological problem: Introducing the intercultural intersubjectivity framework
Ravi Vatrapu <ravikira@hawaii.edu> (Communication and Information Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI)

The intercultural intersubjective framework (IIF) is an attempt to re-conceptualize human consciousness as an always already ontological solution in search of an epistemological problem that can be legitimated in the scientific discourse. This somewhat polemical first take on consciousness studies is employed mostly as a pedagogical/rhetorical strategy to demonstrate the essential and irreducible nature of human consciousness: intercultural intersubjectivity. The IIF is posited at two analytical levels, the micro analytic level of contiguous discourse emergence and the macro analytical level of processual outcomes. The only prescription of the IIF is that discourse should always be analyzed as second order phenomena and no claims to first order reality a priori doing analysis should be made if methodological integrity is to be maintained.. In IIF, at the macro level of analysis, after a well-charted return to Descartes, the Cartesian axes are redrawn as the horizontal intercultural axis that is Consciousness--World and the vertical intersubjective axis that is Other--Self. These neo-Cartesian axes configure interactions at the macro analytical level of measurable outcomes that impact the social world. Analogous to Descartes productive synthesis of algebra and geometry into analytical geometry, IIF at the macro level argues for a synthesis of being and thinking to arrive at an analytical praxis which is argued to be a non-eliminable reduction of human activity. The vertical intersubjective axis of the OtherSelf configures the "ways of being". It is the axis of ethics and politics. The horizontal intercultural Consciousness--World (re)presents the "ways of thinking". It is the axis of aesthesis and logic. At the micro analytic level, human discourse is posited as second-order phenomenon that emerges from intercultural intersubjective interactions that mediate and/modulate the fundamental nature of human consciousness: intercultural intersubjectivity. Discourse is operationalized as an emergent phenomena that under analysis is always already of the second order. Having established the micro and the macro analytical levels of the nature of the human consciousness, the concrete human reality of the everyday consciousness is conceptualized as constitutive of both these levels. In other words, the ontological bracketing of human consciousness grants an epistemic access that is constitutive of the very ontological bracketing. Yet in other representational gestures epistemic access to human consciousness is symbolically articulated as an embrace of these braces: }{ with each brace representing one analytical level. In a sense, the intercultural intersubjectivity framework is at once a theoretical framework to locate the ontological enclosure of human consciousness and also a theoretical framework for epistemic analytical access to it. As mentioned already, ethics and politics are the proper domain of the intersubjective while logic and aesthetics are the proper domain of the intercultural. I conceptualize human consciousness as not only being mutually constituted by the above aspects but also as Nature's solution to the philosophical problems that arise from our contemplation of the above. I conclude by arguing that human consciousness is an always already ontological solution whose proper epistemic study should include at least the problems of ethics, politics, logic and aesthetics. P6

204 How consciousness determines human behavior: Achieving behavioral transformation through an understanding of the duality of consciousness
Sol Weingarten <jdwein@comcast.net> (Correctional Medical Facility Vacaville State Prison, CA, Walnut Creek, CA)

A significant way to discover the nature of human consciousness is to study it in the laboratory of life in its ultimate expression as human behavior. The result of forty-five years of working with people in all walks of life has led me to an understanding of the universal duality of human nature. The knowledge and recognition of this duality, which I refer to as the lower level and higher level of our consciousness, has enabled those with whom I work to change their behaviors and live more productive lives. Most attendees will recognize in the first few minutes of the presentation that they regularly experience the two states of consciousness being described. The lower level state of consciousness has as its activity the feelings, emotions and beliefs fueled by the amygdala in the lower primitive brain. The amygdala contains emotional memory, which, by connection to the cortex, chooses thought that is supportive of the feeling. As feelings are measurements of environmental stimuli and are generally not chosen by us, there is little free will in this state of mind. Survival of the self is at the center of the lower level mindset. It is a closed frame of mind that includes one's thinking, attitudes, rationalizations and memories consistent with and supportive of the feeling that triggers it, often producing behavior that may be damaging to ourselves and others. It is automatic, effortless and universal in nature. In contrast, the higher level state of consciousness is open and receptive rather than closed and self-centered. Even though the two states are seamlessly joined, recognizing the lower level for what it is enables the choice of the higher level mindset, which empowers us to find creative solutions and reach more of our potential. In my psycho-educational program, I have found recognition of this mindset essential to changing errant behaviors of prison inmates, addictive teens, and domestic violence perpetrators as well as the behaviors creating difficulties in everyday conflicts. The transformation that can result in the change of mindset from lower level to higher level has surprising effects with separate different identities, moralities and behaviors in each state. All humans seek to behave morally, but all of us in all societies can be impelled by our nature to amoral behavior. Who amongst us has not wondered, "How could I have done that or said that?" If everyone could learn to choose moral and decent behaviors by applying the simple principles brought to light by this theory of consciousness, the potential for control of most unnecessary violence would conceivably be possible. Because of the equivalencies of the dualities and transformations occurring in quantum and classical physical expression, a theory of the physics of consciousness has been developed and will be introduced if time permits. P5

[04.04] Emergent and hierarchical systems

205 Toward a new philosophy of nature and a naturalistic foundation of community: Implications of synchronicity and the emerging science of spontaneous order
Werner Krieglstein <krieglsteinw@hotmail.com> (Philosophy, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Il)

Self-Organization is a key concept in understanding processes of Collective Orchestration in the animate and so-called inanimate world. Such Collective Orchestration is based on cooperative aspects of systems and advancement of systems through cooperation. A detailed analysis of these processes will lead to a better understanding of the concept of community even among human beings. The paper will investigate the natural powers that orchestrate such community formation and will show the necessity of community because only from that perspective can a universal ethics evolve. Collective phenomena are investigated from the perspective of system theory, cybernetics, and the Theory of Complexity. Since Chaos Theory put self-organization into the center of the scientific debate, many researchers have confirmed that self-organizing systems are crucial in the understanding of the formation of life. The paper suggests that self-organizing, collective processes may also be the key to understand evolutionary advance at all levels, and by providing a scientific explanation once and for all put to rest the debate about Intelligent Design. P10

206 Models of subjectivity: Latent emergent order and Its detection in attractor networks
Raymond Pavloski, Mitchell, S.; Alwine, T.; Field, K.; Hawkins, S.; Kraszewski, E.; Mook, A.; Nieto-Quintero, M.; Sliko, N.; Thomas, K.; Thompson, K.; Vanecek, C.; Yetsko, K.; Barrett, B.; Derstine, K.; Heisey, M. <pavloski@iup.edu> (Psychology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA)

The theory of Primary Mental Models (PMM) proposes that subjective experience is a dynamic global macrostate that emerges from the interactions of the elements of its substrate (Pavloski, 2005). Such states have a necessarily subjective existence, and are therefore referred to as latent rather than as manifest. PMM suggests that latent order characterizes macrostates that appear to emerge from interactions among relationships that, in turn, are dynamic constructs of the objective interactions among elements of the system. Three attractor models producing latent order are presented. The simplest model is an adaptation of the Ising model of magnetism. Latent order is produced by having binary elements with states 1 combine some inputs multiplicatively rather than additively, as they do in attractor neural network models. The dynamics of the model reduce an energy that depends on alignment of products in the same way that the energy of the Ising model depends on alignment of states of elements. Simulations confirm that latent macroscopic order emerges at a critical noise level, and that this order is not evident in the space defined by neural activities (Pavloski, 2005). Since the energy of this model depends on products in the same way that the energy in an Ising model depends on the states of the elements, it is easily generalized to a virtual Hopfield network that produces patterns of products rather than patterns of states of the elements. Computer simulations demonstrate that the virtual Hopfield network stores and retrieves latent patterns just as the Hopfield network stores and retrieves manifest patterns of neural activity. Furthermore, the virtual network shows interference effects among latent patterns, and is influenced by external inputs at the level of the latent patterns rather than the level of neural activity. The third model eliminates the need to compute products of inputs by having feedforward networks with hidden layers compute arbitrary relationships between elements comprising clusters of neurons. The resulting interactions between neurons produce virtual interactions between these arbitrary sets of relationships. Computer simulations confirm that latent order is produced, and that the ordered states are not evident in state vectors of neuron activity. Finally, a modification of latent semantic analysis was applied to this last model by applying singular value decomposition (SVD) to matrices of neuron activities sampled in attractor states. Results show that SVD can be used to reveal the latent order using a number of dimensions much smaller than the number of neurons. Further, the accuracy of the approach (using a signal detection framework) varies inversely with both the number of manifest neural patterns that are consistent with a given arbitrary relationship and with the variability of the distribution from which the patterns are drawn. Implications for the analysis of actual neural patterns are discussed. Reference Pavloski, R.P. (2005). An attractor lattice model with latent emergent order. Nonlinear Dynamics, Psychology, and the Life Sciences, In Press. P10

[04.05] Nonlinear dynamics

206a The chaotic epigenesis of self
Angela Bruzzo <angela.bruzzo@libero.it> (Psychology, University of Bologna, Italy)

Current research on neural systems and higher brain functions is a combination of classical neuroscience with the more recent non-linear science, in spite of the technical hitches in applying the concepts developed to describe mathematical models of deterministic chaos, not only to the brain and biological systems, but also in philosophy, to the concept of Self. In section I, I present the main arguments that support the existence of chaos, from the simplest to the most complex level of the nervous system. In section II, I use the concept of epigenesis, taken from biology, to illustrate parallels between Self and physical Self-organizing systems. Like in embryonic development, stability is one of the main features of Self. However, if the Self is perturbed, it will not necessarily return to its previous state. Finally, I focus on the metastability as an adequate conception of Self-functioning. P4

[04.06] Logic and computational theory

207 What is the algorithmic complexity of subjective experience?
Sean Lee <seanlee@bu.edu> (Office of Technology Development, Boston University, Boston, MA)

Addressing the 'hard-problem' of consciousness wholly within the modern scientific tradition requires that the 'what-it-is-like' aspects of subjective experience, or qualia, be unambiguously related to objective physical information states, such as, for example, physio-neurological brain states, computational states of a Turing machine, or quantum states of special complex systems. Taking this view seriously then requires the somewhat paradoxical program of 'objectifying' qualia in some manner in order to treat them as elements of a proper set Q which may then be mapped to an appropriate set of physical information states P. Because any set of physical information states can be generally mapped to a subset of the real numbers R, the same must necessarily hold for the set of 'objectified' qualia. Thus a faithful 'objectification', or coding, of a given quale must be able to express the entire content, including the 'what-it-is-likeness', as a bit string. We investigate the algorithmic complexity that such a bit string must have in order to reflect its difficult 'genealogy' as a subjective experience. We discuss further conceptual advantages of such a modeling, and argue that it places stringent constraints on any future scientific treatment of 'the hard problem'. P10

[04.07] Bioelectromagnetics/resonance effects

208 Oscillation of amplitude as measured by an extra low frequency magnetic field meter as a biophysical measure of intentionality
Melinda Connor, Schwartz, Gary; Tau, Genevieve <melinda_connor@mindspring.com> (Program in Integrative Medicine, University of Arizona, Marana, AZ)

There are approximately 1 million energy medicine practitioners in the US at this time (Connor, Schwartz & Jacobs, 2005). Braud & Schlitz (1989) Schlitz & Braud(1997),Winstead-Fry & Kijek (1999 ), Warber et al. (2000), Astin, Harkness & Ernst (2000), in their meta-data analysis of energy medicine studies have found significant effects. Creath & Schwartz (2005), Rubik & Schwartz (2005), have demonstrated cellular changes produced as effects of energy medicine. It is unclear from the data at this time how the practitioners are producing effects. Clarification between placebo, intentionality, and randomly produced effects needs to take place. As part of this process scientists need a simple measure which predicts potential practitioner competence in a research environment. This study tests the use of Triaxial ELF Magnetic Field Meter as a method to confirm that a practitioner is able to produce measurable and reliable changes of amplitude in the extra low frequency range through the use of intentionality, on demand and in a research setting. Information will be presented on the test methods, the results of testing and potential methods of use. Data analysis to date demonstrates effect significance to p<.0001 on a one minute measure of the energy practitioners hand at the universal qi point in the palm. P4

209 Biophoton imaging around and between plant parts: are "auras" real?
Katherine Creath, Gary E. Schwartz <kcreath@ieee.org> (Optical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ)

Biophoton emission is a type of self-bioluminescence that has been proposed as one possible mechanism responsible for intra- and intercellular communication (information transfer) as well as for regulation of biological and biochemical functions within cells and living systems. Measurements by other researchers have shown that this emission has the properties of coherent light and is measurable from the UV through the near IR. Experimental evidence gathered by various researchers since the 1920's indicates that light plays an important role in certain biological functions and processes. We have developed an imaging system and analysis techniques using biophoton imaging of plant leaves as a diagnostic tool for tracking state of health of a biological system over time. Using these techniques we have also investigated the response of plant leaves as a subtle energy detector. The imaging system is comprised of a light-tight dark chamber using a high-performance, low-noise, cooled Princeton Instruments VersArray 1300B CCD imaging array. As we studied thousands of biophoton images recorded of plants and plant parts over the past three years, we have observed patterns in the "noise" surrounding plant parts. Through a series of experiments these "halo-like" patterns appear to extend beyond the plants and they appear more intensely between plant parts in close proximity falling off as the distance between plant parts increases. Comparison of images taken with different backgrounds shows that images taken using a non-fluorescing white background to enhance the light scattered around and between the leaves yields much more evidence of halos and resonance effects than images taken with an absorbing black background. This may be a similar effect to sensitives who claim they can better see auras when the subject is in front of a lighter colored background. Image processing techniques to stretch and enhance mapping of signal levels can aid in visualizing these effects. Are these "halo-like" patterns similar to what many sensitive people call "auras", and are they indicative of some kind of biological communication / resonance via light? Dynamical systems theory offers a plausible explanation for resonance effects we have observed. The role of photonic interaction at the systemic level in biological systems has received relatively little attention. Yet, a better understanding of these processes would help us in deciphering the nature and role of light in biological systems. Partially supported by NIH P20 AT00774-01 (Center for Frontier Medicine in Biofield Science) from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). C21

[04.08] Biophysics and living processes

210 From the nature of life to consciousness
James Beichler <jebco1st@aol.com> (Physics, Division of Natural Science and Mathematics, West Virginia University at Parkersburg, Belpre, Ohio)

By any scientific estimation, life is necessary for the development of consciousness. Some people believe that inanimate objects are conscious, but there is no scientifically verifiable evidence to support such a conclusion. Therefore, it is safe to suggest that life is a necessary condition for consciousness and a theory of life should precede a theory of consciousness. However, anything beyond this suggestion, such as deciding which living beings possess consciousness, depends upon the particular definition of consciousness applied. Science can only guarantee that human beings have consciousness. What then is so special about life that consciousness can only be associated with living things and, in particular, with humans beings? All living organisms have extremely complex chemical and mechanical structures that distinguish them from inanimate material objects, so life must be associated with the chemical complexity of living organisms. Chemical interactions are electrical in nature, from a classical point-of-view, and deal with energy exchanges between molecules, both areas of which are studied in physics. So the chemical complexities involved in life can be reduced for study and explanation by physicists and a theory of life is a matter for biophysics rather than biology. In particular, a new physical theory of life has been developed that takes into account electromagnetic theory, molecular energy exchanges and the complexity of the chemical interactions associated with living organisms, but this theory is anything but classical. Instead, this theory is based on a five-dimensional Einstein-Kaluza model of space-time, which offers a non-classical unification of electromagnetic theory and relativity out of which a physical model of life and consciousness emerge logically from the structure of space-time. P10

211 Cellular automata model of a microtubule using a double potential well found in tubulin
Travis Craddock, Catherine Beauchemin; Jack Tuszynski <tcraddoc@phys.ualberta.ca> (Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

Recent evidence shows signalling, communication and conductivity in microtubules (MTs) and theoretical models have predicted their potential for both classical and quantum information processing. Several aspects of MTs have been studied and well-established principles of classical statistical physics have been applied to study elements of information processing and storage as well as signal propagation in these cellular structures. Arguments for and against the existence of quantum effects in MTs are numerous, and working quantum models of MTs are required. To investigate the existence of quantum computation in microtubule protein assemblies we model this system via cellular automata using both classical and quantum neighbour rules. Using a typical MT configuration of 13 protofilaments and a seven member tubulin neighbour-hood in a tilted hexagon configuration, we take the interior of tubulin to contain a region of two areas of positive charge separated by a negative potential region constituting a double well potential. Position of a mobile electron within this double potential well is used as the determining factor for the state of an individual tubulin dimer, with transitions determined by the minimization of the systems energy associated with electrostatic interactions of neighbouring electrons and thermal effects. Classically the model allows transitions for electrons with sufficient energy to overcome the potential barrier (taken as 100meV) in which the new configuration lowers the systems energy, or if the configuration raises the systems energy with a finite probability of exp(-deltaE/kT). The quantum model allows the electron to tunnel through the potential barrier allowing transitions for which the systems energy is lowered even if the electron does not possess the necessary energy to overcome the potential barrier, or for configurations that raise the systems energy with the same finite probability as in the classical scenario. P10

212 Advances in cosmology suggest a link between information, complexity and the age of the universe. This development could remove a fundamental obstacle to strong emergence in nature.
Paul Davies, Life and Consciousness as Emergent Phenomena <pdavies@els.mq.edu.au> (Australian Centre for Astrobiology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia)

The claim that life and consciousness are emergent phenomena exhibiting novel properties and principles is often criticized for being in conflict with causal closure at the microscopic level. I argue that advances in cosmological theory suggesting an upper bound on the information processing capacity of the universe may resolve this conflict for systems exceeding a certain threshold of complexity. A numerical estimate of the threshold for life places it at the level of a small protein. The calculation supports the contention that life is an emergent phenomenon. The analogous calculation for neural complexity remains an open problem. The same treatment suggests that classicality emerges from quantum mechanics at a level of complexity corresponding to about 400 entangled particles. PL4

213 The transition between life and death - exploring the parameters
Jeremy Horne <jhorne18@earthlink.net> (MCC - Philosophy, RhinoCorps, Ltd., and Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ)

Where is the boundary between human life and death, or is there even such a boundary? Suggesting the existence of "boundary" raises the ageless problems of continuum and discrete: Zeno's paradox, the modern calculus, Heisenberg-type problems, and, indeed, quantum mechanics and cosmology. Alternatively, are "alive" and "dead" just visible signs of a deeper process of universal motion permeating every aspect of our universe? I present two approaches to exploring how we might discover a boundary, if such exists: biological entities being progressively replaced by artificial ones and cell apoptosis, or cell death. First, with the whole body approach, easily identifiable human mental process may undergo a major qualitative change, as in how awareness of prostheses affects one's response to the environment. Given recent developments, one may consider the substitution of various parts of the brain with artificial devices, such as silicon-or organic molecule-based neural network chips. Medical developments appear to be leading us in this direction. With the second approach, apoptosis, I ask about life in the body's fundamental units, the cells. What is the "crossover" point (at the genetic, molecular, or even lower level) in the ability of a cell to sustain itself, although the environment in which it is maintained is hospitable for that cell's life? I ask if a nanotechnology could sustain a cell indefinitely. In this discussion, it is essential to identify parameters for ascertaining boundaries of "consciousness" and "life". Both have many definitions. However, in each case, there are collections of conditions that could be the minimal basis of what may be regarded as degrees of consciousness or life. Arguably, the most frequently used Glasgow Coma Scale could serve as an example. While we can vary the environment to observe how those conditions for each are changed, there is to us a "crossover" point when a self-sustaining or even an adaptive entity no longer can maintain its integrity. In both approaches, I examine the nature and type of homeostasis. Not unlike Frank J. Tipler (The Physics of Immortality), we might approach the transition of organically based homeostatic entities to non-hydrocarbon-based ones in terms of finite state machines, and automatons, while keeping in mind the conditions we discussed above for consciousness and life. P4

214 Toward quantification and verification of spin-mediated consciousness theory and biological entanglement
Huping Hu, Maoxin Wu <hupinghu@quantumbrain.org> (Biophysics Consulting Group, Stony Brook, New York)

The principle of science dictates that a theory or hypothesis should only achieve legitimacy if it is experimentally verified. Thus, since the summer of 2004 we have mainly focused our efforts on the quantification and verification of our spin-mediated consciousness theory. These efforts include designing and implementing computer simulations and experiments. Important results shall be presented if it is feasible. Our ongoing efforts also lead us to propose that quantum entanglement originates from the primordial spin processes in non-spatial and non-temporal pre-spacetime, is the quantum "glue" holding once interacting quantum entities together in pre-spacetime, implies genuine interconnectedness and inseparableness of the said quantum entities, and can be directly sensed and utilized by the entangled quantum entities. The said efforts further lead us to tentatively conclude that (1) quantum entanglement can influence brain properties and functions, many chemical/physical processes and micro/macroscopic properties of all forms of matters, thus, playing vital roles in consciousness and many biological/natural processes; (2) it is the genuine cause of many anomalous effects, if they do exist, in parapsychology, alternative medicine and other fields as some authors have already suspected in some cases; and (3) it can be harnessed, tamed and developed into revolutionary technologies to serve the mankind in many areas such as health, medicine and even recreation besides the already emerging fields of quantum computation. In the context of the spin-mediated consciousness theory, we strongly believe that the solutions to the binding problem and decoherence challenge lie with quantum entanglement. According to our theory, quantum spins are the mind-pixels, consciousness emerges from the collective dynamics of various entangled spin states and the unity of mind is achieved by entanglement of these mind-pixels. Quantum entanglement as understood herein allows mind to achieve binding and overcome decoherence in pre-spacetime. The essential question then becomes how does mind process and harness information from these mind-pixels to have conscious experience. We have argued previously that contextual, irreversible and non-computable means within pre-spacetime are utilized by mind to do this. C21

215 Evolution and long-term memories in humans: Implications for theoretical and clinical research on consciousness and the transpersonal
Roulette Smith <najms@postgraduate-interdisciplinary-studies.org> (IPIS and ITP, Palo Alto, CA)

Previous reports (1-4) focused on possibilities that DNA in brain may be repositories of long-term memories in living systems [LTM]. This report examines implications for evolution, and the evolution of cognition and consciousness, the transpersonal, and several clinical entities (e.g., dementia and other neurocognitive / neuromuscular disorders, autism, temporary autism (5), and several non-genetic transmissible diseases). Evolutionary perspectives are shown to introduce clarity and parsimony where none existed previously. Several methodological and ethnomethodological challenges also are considered. In particular, evolutionist perspectives, when coupled with 2001 findings from two "human genome projects" [HGPs], reveal that LTM and consciousness may have a neo-Darwinian and non-proteomic (i.e., non-genetic) basis grounded in alternative modes of molecular information transfers involving mirror neurons and/or an inverse molecular information pathway different from the one articulated in the "central dogma." Several "trinucleotide repeat diseases" [TNR] provide compelling evidence for this alternative information pathway and non-proteomic basis for some consciousness. References 1. Smith, R. W. (1979). Long-Term Memories: Where Does the 'Buck' Stop?  Toward a Testable Theory of Debugging the Molecular Basis of Long-Term Memories in Living Organisms. Abstracts, Seventh Meeting of the International Society for Neurochemistry [Jerusalem, ISRAEL  September 2-6], p. 590. 2. Smith, R. Wm. (2003). Revisiting the Molecular Biology, Genetics and Genomics of Long-Term Memory in Living Systems. Abstracts, International Congress of Genetics [Melbourne, AUSTRALIA  July 6-11], Abstract #5.C.0802, p.133. 3. Smith, R. Wm. (2004). Towards a Molecular Biology of Long-Term Memory in Humans: Implications for Research on Consciousness, Subconsciousness, Dreaming, Nurture and Commonsense. Abstracts, Toward a Science of Consciousness 2004 [Tucson, AZ  April 8-11], Abstract 196. 4. Smith, R. Wm. (2004). Towards a Molecular Basis for Spirituality and Religious Knowledge: Implications for Nurture and Evolution in Long-Term Memory. In 2004 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion and Religious Research Association Conference ("Neurotheology, and the Biological and Evolutionary Aspects of Religion") Annual Meeting Abstracts, p22 (see also 2004 SSSR/RRA Program Schedule, p17) [Kansas City, MO  October 24]. 5. Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink  The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. New York: Little, Brown and Company. P4

[04.09] Evolution of consciousness

216 Cognition, recognition and the immune system
Uzi Awret <uawret@cox.net> (Falls Church, Va.)

In recent years we have witnessed the appearance of embodied and environmentally embedded theories of cognition that blur the line of demarcation separating action and representation. Examples would be Alva Noe's work on enacted perception, Andy Clark's 'enacted representation' and important contributions by Varela and others. Because these theories are based directly on our physical theories they seem to supply us with an opportunity to ground cognition. The implicit assumption made here is that pattern recognition supervenes on our physical theories. I will try and claim that pattern recognition is a fundamental process that does not supervene on the physical anymore than the physical supervenes on pattern recognition. If the paradigms of physical action and pattern recognition are mutually irreducible than we should consider enacted cognitive theories in conjunction with their pattern recognition counterparts. The mutual irreducibility of action and pattern recognition is closely linked to the way in which information and the matter in which information is necessarily inscribed can neither be fully united nor separated, I will suggest a more 'cognitive' theory of cognition by considering a broader view of the evolution of biological pattern recognition that appeals to molecular 'pre-technology' and 'pre-culture'. The paper will attempt to expose deep dynamic and structural similarities between the brain and the immune system as cognitive systems to support the claim that human cognition resulted from the pre-technological evolution of more primitive 'cogntive societies'. The comparison between the brain and the immune system will borrow from Llinas' concepts of neuronal recruitment and augmentation and Irun Cohen's distinction between a non-specific, preparatory, contextual and ecological immune response vs. the more specific acquired immune response. I will consider some of the structural similarities shared by these systems, especially some of the new developments relating the neurological synapse to the immunological synapse. I will end by suggesting that the brain utilizes many of the more primitive cognitive skills displayed by the immune system in a more coordinated way and about a million times faster. P10

217 On logic and consciousness
Valeriy Bulitko, Vadim Bulitko <valeriyb@athabascau.ca> (Centre for Science, Athabasca University, Athabasca, Alberta, Canada)

Piaget showed that the ability to reason logically is not innate but is developed in children between the age of seven and twelve [1]. Prior to such a development, children demonstrate ``pre-logical" operations that are either innate or developed at an earlier age. We study how logical structures can emerge on the basis of the pre-logical operations discovered by Piaget as a means to search for an appropriate behavioral model in an actual or imaginary world. In our framework, an acceptable behavior is a result of a search in the state space $S$ with two preference relations $P_i,P_o$ defined on $S$. The preference relation $P_i$ is a prior (subjective) representation of utility of a state. The preference relation $P_o$ is an objective representation of such state utility. A behaving subject chooses the next state in accordance to the preference relations. If $P_i$ and $P_o$ disagree in their evaluation of utility of a state, the subject may modify $P_i$ in accord with $P_o$. This process represents an adaptation or learning. It is important that the preference relations are defined in terms of Piaget's pre-logical operations.For the purpose of our study, we assume that the subject has access to $P_i,P_o$ {\em only} in its current state. We show that a (posterior) preference relation $P_p$ emerges in a search for a better state as a modification of the initial preference relation $P_i$. These modifications can be described in terms of logic-like formulae over $P_i, P_o$. Notably, for particular $P_i,P_o$, these formulae become classic logical propositions. Thus, in this framework certain kinds of logic can be demonstrated to have an adaptive meaning. Development of the posterior preference relation $P_p$ can happen over the course of organism's lifetime or even over the course of the organism's species lifetime. In the former case we would say that $P_p$ is developed via learning. In the latter case, $P_p$ ensues in the process of evolution. A different scenario takes place when an organism demonstrates, without a trial-and-error process, a rapidly emerging logical behavior that has no immediate adaptive value. In our framework we argue that this kind of logical behavior requires a sufficiently high level of consciousness in order to reflect and operate on the preference relations $P_i, P_o$ in the organism's mind. This reflection together with the ability to manipulate states different from the organism's current actual state and determine their utilities, allows the organism to refine its $P_i$ rapidly without a trial-and-error. Thus, such a refinement of $P_i$ in organism's mind presumes a sort of self-reflection and self-awareness. Consequently, presence of logical reasoning appears to be an indicator of organism's reaching a certain level of consciousness. We therefore conjecture that children reach a higher level of consciousness at the age of seven to twelve. References: 1. J. Piaget. Logic and Psychology. Manchester University Press, 1956. P10

218 The evolution of nonalgorithmic consciousness
Steve Cousins <cousins@rikkyo.ne.jp> (Rikkyo University, Mitaka-shi, Tokyo, Japan)

If consciousness is a higher-order feature of the brain with causal powers of its own, then it is most likely a product of natural selection. Yet if consciousness is not fully reducible to the brain, how could it have evolved? Natural selection in its orthodox formulation is a materialistic and algorithmic process: it produces physical traits through a sequence of automatic, law-like steps. Unlike physical traits, however, consciousness is made up of meaning; it exists only as experienced. The basis of this meaning--and what makes consciousness nonalgorithmic--is reference: a triadic process in which the relation of sign to object is mediated by a conceptual ground or interpretant. The question occurs: How could an algorithmic process create a nonalgorithmic mind? As Dennett (1995) asked, "how could anything born of automata ever be anything but a much, much fancier automaton?" It couldn't, which suggests that natural selection isn't an entirely algorithmic process. The concept of natural teleology, according to which biological traits exist for the sake of certain end-states or goals of the organism, lends support to this view. In contrast to teleology involving the goals of an external agent, in natural teleology the goals of a process develop from the process itself. By contributing to specific or "proximate" end-states of the organism, biological traits contribute to the "ultimate" end-state of fitness; this contribution, by allowing the organism to be born again, thus helps explain the traits' very existence. This is the basis of designating such end-states as goals, as well as designating the adaptive effect of a given trait as a proper function. What makes natural selection nonalgorithmic, then, is a triadic process in which the relation of form to function is mediated by immanent goals. This perspective opens up the possibility that nonalgorithmic consciousness could evolve, but leads to another question: Why would it evolve? Natural selection designs traits to fit specific, local environments, based on an "a priori" standard of good design. But what could be the a priori principle of consciousness, which has no observable substance nor any link to a particular environmental niche? I propose that natural selection evolved a version of itself; consciousness is natural selection incarnate. Unable to guide organisms in the moment, natural selection created consciousness as a surrogate, to bring the goal of fitness to bear on the immediately unfolding conditions of the environment. Just as the relation of form to function in biological traits is mediated by immanent goals, so the relation of sign to object is mediated by an interpretant. Whereas the goal in natural selection is the fitness of the organism in the environment, the interpretant in consciousness consists of representations of such fitness, as embodied in memory. In either case its mediating influence is such that this third term tends to bring about its own realization. As with other evolved traits, consciousness has a proper function, and that is to replicate the work of natural selection itself. C5

219 The evolutionary function & the physiological realization of the experience of thirst
Hans Dooremalen <zombies@xs4all.nl> (Philosophy, Tilburg University & Groningen University, Tilburg, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands)

In science explanations of phenomena often starts with a functional analysis. This is an answer to the question: What does the phenomenon do? After answering it, a second question  the realization question  is asked: How is this done? If both questions are answered the phenomenon under investigation is explained. We have gained knowledge and understanding of another piece of the world. Influential philosophers like Ned Block, David Chalmers and Jaegwon Kim have expressed their doubts about the possibility of a functional analysis of consciousness. If experiences indeed cannot be functionally analyzed, a scientific explanation cannot be found. Assuming that experiences are properties of organisms, the functional analysis that is required will be an evolutionary one: What does a certain type of experience add to the survival and reproductive success of the experiencing individual? Though consciousness can be said to be homogeneous (every experience has a certain what-it-is-likeness) the heterogeneous character of consciousness (every type of experience differs from every other type) implies that solving the problems of consciousness will require much work, for we have to explain every type of consciousness separately (Cf. Flanagan 1992). In this paper I will focus on the experience of thirst, for the simple reason that this is a type of experience we can be sure about that our ancestors had them too. If we take a look at experiences of thirst (based on data gathered by Derek Denton and his colleagues) it is not that hard to provide a functional analysis of this type of experience, showing what the advantage is for the individual in evolutionary terms. The data that I will discuss show that phenomenal consciousness is evolution's shorthand. In this case the experience of thirst is shorthand for an increased serum osmolality (i.e. there is a lack of fluid in the body). What is important in this case is that the thirsty organism does not know anything about the complicated process of osmoregulation. The organism acts because it is thirsty, not because it knows that it's serum osmolality has increased. This blocks any conceivability argument that is meant to show that a physical duplicate without experiences would still act the same. The second question is how this evolutionary function is performed by the organisms that experience thirst. Here too we can give an answer. Since answering both the functional and realization question is enough to solve the problem concerning a type of experience, the problem of the experience of thirst is solved. References Block, N.J. (1995), "On a confusion about a function of consciousness." Chalmers, D.J. (1996b), The Conscious Mind. In Search of a Fundamental Theory. Denton, D., R. Shade, F. Zamarippa, G. Egan, J. Blair-West, MN. McKinley, J. Lancaster & P. Fox (1999), "Neuroimaging of genesis and satiation of thirst and an interocetptor-driven theory of primary consciousness." Flanagan, O.J. (1992), Consciousness Reconsidered. Kim, J. (1998), Mind in a Physical World, An Essay on the Mind-Body Problem and Mental Causation. C5

220 Associative learning as the functional context for the evolution of basic consciousness
Simona Ginsburg, Eva Jablonka <simona@openu.ac.il> (Natural Science, The Open University of Israel, Raanana, Israel)

We propose an evolutionary account of basic consciousness, the set of processes that lead to first-person feelings, that are present in (some) organisms with a nervous system. We define the selective context in which first-person experiences first appeared, and try to give an account of the selection pressures that led to their evolution. In other words, we try to account for the evolutionary transition from a non-feeling, non-conscious animal, to a feeling animal with basic consciousness. We suggest that associative learning is the indicator for, and was the functional context in which basic consciousness emerged and evolved. During associative learning stable dynamic "representations" of new relations between causes and effects are formed via the attribution of whole-organisms "selection values" (the sensory-motor correlates of rewards and punishment) to these relations. These value-laden, whole-organism sensory-motor states are the primary distinct first-person experiences that an organism can be said to have, and associative learning is therefore an indicator of basic consciousness. The biological structures and mechanisms enabling this basic consciousness evolved to allow a coordinated motor response of a multicellular organism, that had to move efficiently and rapidly, as a unit, in response to relevant stimuli, and to learn new, relevant cause-effect relations. We suggest that the neural organization allowing first-person experience evolved in this context, and depended on the following: 1. Continuous, two-way, reciprocal signaling that led to integrated, systemic, dynamic, sensory-motor connection-patterns, or "representations"; these sensory-motor patterns evolved in the context of selection for coordinated motor responses. 2. Temporal persistence of such "representations"; this persistence evolved as a consequence of selection for effective binding of different aspects of sensations, as well as for memory. 3. Categorization of such "representations" into reward-related ("positive") or punishment-related ("negative") classes, which evolved as a consequence of selection for effective trial-and-error learning. Once such neural organization arose, it "captured" every persistent sensory stimulus, making it reverberate through the neural network, thus leading to unlimited sensor-specific organism qualia. We therefore propose that basic consciousness and qualia are phylogenetically ancient, unambiguously present in the round worms, and that basic consciousness emerged and fueled the Cambrian explosion C5

221 Did the mind evolve?
Roberto Gonzalez-Plaza, Mimi E. Lam, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada <rgonzalez@nwic.edu> (Science, Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, WA)

When the evolution of the human brain is considered, the 'evolution of the mind' comes to mind. While much has been written on this in recent years, the concept of the mind has remained elusive. Here, we adopt the operational view that the mind is the total output or activity of the brain and that the mind, in turn, affects the brain. New paleontological and archaeogical findings are rewriting the human story with plausible 'timescapes' for the emergence of the sapiens mind. In the absence of fossilized brains, deducing the mind's emergence from the evolutionary stages of the brain's lineage poses several challenges. First, each extinct species of the Homo lineage shows 'discrete' brain volume increments, which are used to define the respective species. Second, the differences in brain volume of each extinct Homo species represent, minimally, differences in the number and architecture of the cortex cells, its layers, and other brain areas. Was there a state of 'mind' correlated to its own brain for each species in our lineage? Or were there proto-human minds leading towards ours and if so, what would this imply? The questions become more poignant when the 'mind' of Pan paniscus, our closest extant cousin, is used as the 'baseline' for the modern human mind. We but only superficially understand the fundamental analogies and homologies between human and chimp 'minds' and still do not yet know if we share psychological mechanisms for problem-solving. Comparative genomics of human and chimp genomes tell us that differential expression and positive selection of brain genes may be important in the evolution of 'minds'. But the mechanism of how genes build minds is still unknown; otherwise, we could reconstruct the brain pathway leading to our mind. Are extinct Homo species' minds laddered up from a chimp baseline or did we take a unique evolutionary brain/mind turn? A phylogenetic grading towards the human mind is often assumed: the closer in phylogeny, the more human-like the output function, i.e., mind, of a particular species. Meanwhile, it is not yet possible to correlate the differences in the structure and architecture found in the brain's lineage with the specific behaviors that our ancestors displayed. We propose a parsimonious model of the emergence of the human mind, where the sapiens mind appears as a quantum event in evolution, from the biology of the sapiens brain. The birth of the human mind has lead to the unprecedented journey of our lineage and today, faces unprecedented possibilities, such as that of multiverses. Contemplating their existence takes us full circle, to the moment when the mind first realized its own existence, alone, in awe and astonishment, before the void of 'unsensed' realms. P4

222 Evolution of representations. From basic life to self-representation and self-consciousness.
Christophe Menant, Christophe Menant <crmenant@free.fr> (http://crmenant.free.fr/Home-Page/index.HTM, Bordeaux , France)

The notion of representation is at the foundation of cognitive sciences and is used in theories of mind and consciousness. Other notions like 'interactivism', 'intentionality' and 'guidance theory' have been associated to the notion of representation to introduce its functional aspect. We would like to propose here that a conception of 'usage related' representation eases its positioning in an evolutionary context, and opens new areas of investigation toward self-representation and self-consciousness. Presentation of subject contains four parts. First, we characterise a representation as being an information managed by a finalized system, by a system submitted to a constraint that has to be satisfied in a given environment. We consider that such a system can generate a meaningful information by comparing its constraint to a received information (Menant 2003 ). We define a representation as being made of the received information and of the meaningful information. Such approach allows groundings in and out for the representation relatively to the system. The second part analyzes how such a representation defined in terms of information can be positioned in an evolutionary thread. We take as starting point a simple living element that has to satisfy a 'stay alive' constraint. We then follow an evolutionary path that brings the organism to the level of prehuman primates that can be compared to our today great apes. The performance of Mirror Self Recognition (Gallup) that can be considered as existing at this level of evolution introduces the notion of auto-representation, first characterized in its simplest version without the notion of self. The third part is about introducing the notion of self in evolution via the transformation of auto-representation into self-representation, avoiding the homunculus risk. Still focusing on our prehuman ancestors, we use a hypothesis concerning the performance of intersubjectivity as made possible by group life with the presence of Mirror Neurons in the organisms. Mirror Neurons have been discovered in the 1990' (Rizzolatti 1996, Gallese 1996). The attribution to nonhuman primates of a performance of intersubjectivity as related to Mirror Neurons is currently a subject of debate (Decety 2003). As a continuation to other presentations (Menant TSC 2004 and 2005), we consider that identification to suffering conspecifics in a hostile environment creates an important anxiety that has to be limited. Anxiety limitation becomes a new constraint that generates new representations. Corresponding anxiety limitation is implemented by the development of empathy, imitation, language and group life. The development of these performances increases self-representation, and so creates a positive feedback loop implying a significant acceleration in the evolutionary process. We propose that such an evolutionary engine can lead to self-consciousness, then considered as a by product of the evolution of self-representation. Such evolutionary process naturally roots self-consciousness in emotions. The last part summarizes the here-above developed elements, and introduces some possible continuations. The evolutionary scenario proposed here does not introduce explicitly the question of phenomenal consciousness (Block 1995). This question is to be addressed later with the help of this scenario. P10

223 The wings of imagination - the missing link in the origin of consciousness?
Jose Monserrat <rijik@ufla.br> (Computer Science Departament - DCC, Universidade Federal de Lavras - UFLA, Lavras, MG, Brazil)

Consciousness is examined through the focus of imagination which, traditionally, means the 'capacity' to create fictions about reality and the 'fantasies' themselves created. Here, however, imagination is viewed at the core of the origin of consciousness. Following James' approach  mind as a continuous flow of mental images  'imaginary' is proposed to be both a process and result of the organism-object relationship, the source of imagination (Castoriadis). A perspective that views consciousness through the evolution of imagination is sketched. The imaginary (organism-object relationship) is generated in three levels. The first order flow maps the organism and the environment. The second one maps the transformations of the organism during its interaction with an object, generating in a transitory form the sense of self and the representation of the object. The third order flow maps the previous mapping, generating a meta-representation of the object and self, but in a symbolic and non-transitory form. The third level is hypothetical but suggested to explain the extended capacity of imagination in higher animals. The imaginary engenders both the sense of self and the representation of the interacting object as mental images, creating "what is seen" and "what sees", the "thinking" and the "thinker" (Damasio). Mental images and their qualia  representations  are regarded as being born from within the imaginary as a 'genuine creation' of the living being, prompted by the interacting objects. The imaginary of others animals is mostly dedicated to find food, self preservation and procreation. The hominids' imaginary suffers a gradual rupture and loses function in terms of strict biological needs. It becomes relatively autonomous and capable of disconnecting itself from external things of here and now, and may turn back on itself: the object of the imaginary becoming the imaginary itself. This capability made possible the creation of images from images in a recursive cycle without any precedents in the biological world. The human consciousness arises as an outcome of a reciprocal and recursive interaction between the imaginary of each human being and the imagination already instituted previously and collectively in language, culture and society. A hypothetical scenario for the evolution of imagination is sketched, explaining the emergence of first humans. From core self that composes the 'swift' primary consciousness (Damasio), this would have evolved to an episodic narrative consciousness, already symbolic, but limited. Later, through a 'community of minds' (Donald), and with the evolution of vocal language, a wholly symbolic but mythical narrative consciousness evolved. Lastly, with the creation of written records, came the reflexive consciousness of present-day humans. The view of mind as a flow of images in three levels, and as a process and result of the organism-object relationship (imaginary), seeks to break up the antinomy between subjectivity and objectivity, and to regard the status of representation as simultaneously "real" and "fictitious". Finally, the role of imagination in education, art and science is analysed, and shown to be essential for understanding the creative way in which human beings learn and (re)construct their reality. P4

224 How a simple reversal in the preferred direction of information flow in the hominid neocortex led to the mind's "big bang:" The frontal feedback model
Raymond Noack <cmsresearch2000@yahoo.com> (CMS Research, Seattle, WA)

It is argued here that the entire complex of mental attributes that many consider to be uniquely human (including language, creativity, logico-mathematical and music ability, sentient experience, and self-awareness) may have arisen in the hominid brain as the simple result of a fundamental, evolutionary reversal in the preferred direction of information flow in the highest association areas of the cerebral cortex. In the nonhuman brain, vast projections from several large sensory association areas converge on and "drive" a much smaller prefrontal cortex. Such an arrangement provides for the tight control of motor behaviors by sensory processes and yields a mechanism for the global function of the nonhuman brain known as the "perception-action cycle." In the human, however, the situation is the reverse: the large prefrontal cortices in humans drive the relatively smaller posterior association areas to which they project. Such an arrangement in the human sets up a mechanism for the global function of the brain known as the "frontal feedback system." The frontal feedback system is characterized by the intrinsic generation of motor programs in prefrontal cortices feeding back on and manipulating the release and reconstruction of stored sensory representations in posterior sensory cortices. This feedback influence proceeds initially through parieto-temporal association cortices and then back through the entire sensory processing hierarchy towards primary sensory areas. What results from this feedback effect in humans is the establishment of an "ego-centric frame" or central character/self in posterior parieto-temporal cortex, along with a "virtual environment" within which that self resides, located in earlier sensory areas. The frontal feedback system works by manipulating this central character/self within its virtual environment through the effects of frontally generated "action-schemes" manipulating posterior sensory representations in a manner described by Piaget. Anatomical and physiological evidence for this proposed reversal will be presented along with a proposed experiment designed to test for the presence of frontal feedback in the human brain and its absence in the nonhuman brain using current multivariate analytical techniques. C5

225 Self-consciousness and the evolution of conscience
Gottfried Suessenbacher <gottfried.suessenbacher@uni-klu.ac.at> (Institute of Psychology, University of Klagenfurt, Klagenfurt, Carinthia, Austria)

Doing research on the problem of consciousness and on related questions like the evolution of morality (Katz, 2000) and free will (Lukas, 2004; Hodgson, 2005) psychologists, philosophers and a lot of interdisciplinary oriented scientists reflect the question whether there will always be an unsolvable "ignorabimus" to such classical human mysteries. Evolutionary psychologists - not interested in questions of consciousness - maintain that the brain "functions as a computer" and in this way, being subject to evolutionary principles, developed its current peculiarities (Cosmides & Tooby, 2004). However, considering, for instance, the development of fire usage during periods of transition from simple primate to cultural human existence, the evolution of the genus homo shows: The achievement of fire usage, especially of its more sophisticated forms, needed an interplay between (a) the control of affects, (b) a multitude of cognitive abilities and (c) the development of sufficient communication/ interaction - it needed, in short, the mastering of a strong interference between principles of self- and species-preservation. Therefore, contrary to evolutionary psychology, which simply might hypothesize the prehistoric development of a domain-specific cognitive (fire-usage) module, this paper concludes that the functional and structural alterations within the brain (which were needed in order to adapt to the handling of fire) may have allowed the evolution of self-consciousness (SC). This happened by the improvement of preceding abilities which led to a gradual convergence of morality/conscience (M) and (primordial) language (L) - in this way expanding nonsymbolic primate consciousness ( C). The result of such fire-dependent evolutionary steps, going on over milleniums, can be expressed in the following formula: C + (M x L) = SC. This paper explains the multiplicative expression in the formula, gives an overview of hypothetical evolutionary stages regarding the development of fire usage and shows how these stages correlated with necessary neuro- and sociopsychological changes of characteristics of the genus homo. P10

226 Attention, choice and the co-evolution of consciousness and ethics
Wendell Wallach <wwallach@comcast.net> (Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Yale University Institution for Social and Policy Studies, New Haven, CT)

At a crucial stage in evolution, an animal made the transition from preconcep-tual adaptive behavior to an organism that occasionally engaged in a conscious deliberation about what it perceives. In all likelihood, this was a very crude form of deliberation, somewhere on the cusp between an instinctual response to stimuli and the rudimentary representation of information. Though largely dependent on emotional input, this seminal event in the emergence of consciousness should be understood as laying the foundations for choice and ethics. Learning is largely the ability to develop more complex unconscious processing mechanisms or the restructuring of existing mechanisms. Kandel elucidated the molecular biology through which even primitive organisms can learn new behavioral responses. In sophisticated organisms, learning introduces complex branching into unconscious action sequences. Unconscious cognitive mechanisms, like computers, are limited to the pro