Behaving from Within: Refining Markers for Consciousness in Cognitive Ethology
Abstract
The study of animal consciousness has long struggled between analogy-based interpretations of behavior and reductionist accounts that explain complex actions as nonconscious. Building on Donald Griffin’s proposal to use animal behaviors as suggestive indications rather than direct evidence, I argue that progress lies in refining these markers by drawing on insights from both neurobiology and the study of simple life forms. Neurocognitive research on humans identifies recurring features of consciousness that can better inform the selection of functionally relevant candidate cognitive markers in animals. Work on simpler organisms suggests that even basic life forms integrate internal states when guiding self-initiated behavior, suggesting an evolutionary basis underpinning consciousness. Taken together, these perspectives suggest that behavioral markers should not only identify the presence of cognitive abilities but additionally capture how actions are shaped by an animal’s internal evaluations. Integrating these approaches hopefully allows cognitive ethology to move beyond polarized debates and develop more robust behavioral markers of consciousness across species.
Keywords: awareness, behavioral marker, internal state, motivational trade-off, comparative cognition