281 | Samir Okasha on the Philosophy of Agency and Evolution
Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas
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Conscious Goals vs. Instinctive Drives
Mental representation of goals varies significantly across different organisms. While humans and many primates demonstrate conscious intent towards goals, the extent to which other animals possess similar mental frameworks remains debated. Some argue that a broader range of animals, potentially including birds and lower vertebrates, may also exhibit goal-directed behaviors, while others suggest only a select few species have true mental representations of goals. Additionally, even the simplest life forms, like bacteria, engage in goal-directed behaviors, indicating that the presence of goals in a weaker sense may be universal, albeit lacking conscious intention.
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