Conscious Goals vs. Instinctive Drives

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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.

Just like with physics, in biology it is perfectly possible to do most respectable work without thinking much about philosophy, but there are unmistakably foundational questions where philosophy becomes crucial. When do we say that a collection of matter (or bits) is alive? When does it become an agent, capable of making decisions? What are the origins of morality and altruistic behavior? We talk with one of the world's leading experts, Samir Okasha, about the biggest issues in modern philosophy of biology.

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Blog post with transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2024/07/01/281-samir-okasha-on-the-philosophy-of-agency-and-evolution/

Samir Okasha received his D.Phil. in Philosophy from the University of Oxford. He is currently Professor of the Philosophy of Science at the University of Bristol. He is a winner of the Lakatos Award for his book Evolution and the Levels of Selection, and is a Fellow of the British Academy.

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