Moreover, there is a simple ‘bottom line’ reason for believing that consciousness must have some active effect, even if this effect is not one of selective advantage. For why is it that beings like ourselves should sometimes be troubled – especially when probed on the matter – by questions about ‘self? (I could almost say: ‘Why are you reading this chapter?’ or ‘Why did I feel a strong desire to write a book on this topic in the first place?’) It is hard to imagine that an entirely unconscious automaton should waste its time with such matters. Since conscious beings, on the other hand, do seem
...more
