Episode 39: Malcolm MacIver on Sensing, Consciousness, and Imagination




Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas show

Summary: An important aspect of consciousness is imagination: our minds can conjure up hypothetical futures to help us decide which choices we should make. Where did that ability come from? Malcolm MacIver pinpoints an important transition in the evolution of consciousness to when fish first climbed on to land, and could suddenly see much farther, which in turn made it advantageous to plan further in advance. This idea might help us understand some of the abilities and limitations of our cognitive capacities.