Knowledge Tree
Relations (1)
related 2.00 — strongly supporting 3 facts
Memory is identified as a fundamental requirement for agency, as neurocircuitry innovations linking memory to conscious sensations enable behavior [1]. Furthermore, simple conditioning lacking memory is insufficient to confer agency [2], leading to the conclusion that any evolutionary theory of consciousness with agency must be a memory-based theory [3].
Facts (3)
Sources
The function(s) of consciousness: an evolutionary perspective frontiersin.org 3 facts
referenceThe evolution of agency, defined as the link between conscious contents and behavior, depended on neurocircuitry innovations that made memory responsive to sensations generated by consciousness, according to Lacalli (2023).
claimLacalli argues that any theory of biological consciousness consistent with evolutionary processes must be, at some level, a memory theory of consciousness, because simple conditioning without memory is insufficient to produce consciousness with agency.
claimSimple conditioning processes involving synaptic plasticity without memory are insufficient to confer agency on an individual, according to the analysis by Lacalli (2024).