The DOI matches its Crossref record.
The Ancient Origins of Consciousness: How the Brain Created Experience
Abstract
How consciousness appeared much earlier in evolutionary history than is commonly assumed, and why all vertebrates and perhaps even some invertebrates are conscious. How is consciousness created? When did it first appear on Earth, and how did it evolve? What constitutes consciousness, and which animals can be said to be sentient? In this book, Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt draw on recent scientific findings to answer these questions—and to tackle the most fundamental question about the nature of consciousness: how does the material brain create subjective experience? After assembling a list of the biological and neurobiological features that seem responsible for consciousness, and considering the fossil record of evolution, Feinberg and Mallatt argue that consciousness appeared much earlier in evolutionary history than is commonly assumed. About 520 to 560 million years ago, they explain, the great “Cambrian explosion” of animal diversity produced the first complex brains, which were accompanied by the first appearance of consciousness; simple reflexive behaviors evolved into a unified inner world of subjective experiences. From this they deduce that all vertebrates are and have always been conscious—not just humans and other mammals, but also every fish, reptile, amphibian, and bird. Considering invertebrates, they find that arthropods (including insects and probably crustaceans) and cephalopods (including the octopus) meet many of the criteria for consciousness. The obvious and conventional wisdom–shattering implication is that consciousness evolved simultaneously but independently in the first vertebrates and possibly arthropods more than half a billion years ago. Combining evolutionary, neurobiological, and philosophical approaches allows Feinberg and Mallatt to offer an original solution to the “hard problem” of consciousness.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“there is a recognition that even quite early vertebrates may play a role in the story if brain structures evolutionarily older than neocortex are involved, as has been argued for olfactory centers (Shepherd, 2007; Merrick et al., 2014; deVries and Ward, 2016), the optic tectum (Feinberg and Mallatt, 2016), subcortical telencephalic centers, and nuclei in the thalamus and midbrain (Merker, 2005, 2”
From Consciousness as a Product of Evolution: Contents, Selector Circuits, and Trajectories in Experience Space (2021) · cites this paper as Feinberg and Mallatt, 2016
Citations
Cites
Still being checked.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Animal sentience and the precautionary principle
Birch, J. (2017) · Animal Sentience · doi:10.51291/2377-7478.1200 · Cited by 374
“…is that subjective experience involves the integration in the brain of information from multiple sources (Dehaene 2014; Tononi and Koch 2015; Feinberg and Mallatt 2016) so as to enable its use in sophisticated forms of action-guidance, decision-making, memory and learning (Merker 2005,…”
Resynthesizing behavior through phylogenetic refinement
Cisek, P. (2019) · Attention Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/s13414-019-01760-1 · Cited by 315
The search for invertebrate consciousness
Birch, J. (2022) · Noûs · doi:10.1111/nous.12351 · Cited by 254
The Edge of Sentience: Risk and Precaution in Humans, Other Animals, and AI
Birch, J. (2024) · doi:10.1093/9780191966729.001.0001 · Cited by 236
Unlimited Associative Learning and the origins of consciousness: a primer and some predictions
Birch, J., Ginsburg, S., & Jablonka, E. (2020) · Biology & Philosophy · doi:10.1007/s10539-020-09772-0 · Cited by 149
Browning, H., & Birch, J. (2022) · Philosophy Compass · doi:10.1111/phc3.12822 · Cited by 173
The Transition to Minimal Consciousness through the Evolution of Associative Learning
Bronfman, Z. Z., Ginsburg, S., & Jablonka, E. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01954 · Cited by 133
“Although compatible with Feinberg and Mallatt’s focus on hierarchically organized neural maps, our account of minimal consciousness and mental states is incompatible with their distinction between separate types of affective, exteroceptive and interoceptive consciousness (Feinberg and Mallatt, 2016; for a similar dist…”
BackgroundTang, W., Kochubey, O., Kintscher, M., & Schneggenburger, R. (2020) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1796-19.2020 · Cited by 131
Cognition in some surprising places
Reber, A. S., & Baluška, F. (2020) · Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications · doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2020.08.115 · Cited by 123
LeDoux, J. E. (2021) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2021.0292 · Cited by 125
Non-human consciousness and the specificity problem: a modest theoretical proposal
Shevlin, H. (2021) · Mind & Language · doi:10.1111/mila.12338 · Cited by 111
Debunking a myth: plant consciousness
Mallatt, J. M., Blatt, M. R., Draguhn, A., Robinson, D. G., & Taiz, L. (2020) · PROTOPLASMA · doi:10.1007/s00709-020-01579-w · Cited by 90
Self-citationAlcaro, A., Carta, S. M., & Panksepp, J. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01424 · Cited by 96
The role of the optic tectum for visually evoked orienting and evasive movements
Suzuki, D. G., Pérez‐Fernández, J., Wibble, T., Kardamakis, A. A., & Grillner, S. E. (2019) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1907962116 · Cited by 90
Edible insects – defining knowledge gaps in biological and ethical considerations of entomophagy
Pali-Schöll, I., Binder, R., Moens, Y., Polesny, F., & Monsó, S. (2018) · Critical reviews in food science and nutrition · doi:10.1080/10408398.2018.1468731 · Cited by 73
Learning and the Evolution of Conscious Agents
Jablonka, E., & Ginsburg, S. (2022) · Biosemiotics · doi:10.1007/s12304-022-09501-y · Cited by 61
Evolving across the explanatory gap.
Godfrey-Smith, P. (2019) · Philosophy Theory and Practice in Biology · doi:10.3998/ptpbio.16039257.0011.001 · Cited by 55
Anesthetics and plants: no pain, no brain, and therefore no consciousness
Draguhn, A., Mallatt, J. M., & Robinson, D. G. (2020) · PROTOPLASMA · doi:10.1007/s00709-020-01550-9 · Cited by 55
Self-citationSubjectivity “Demystified”: Neurobiology, Evolution, and the Explanatory Gap
Feinberg, T. E., & Mallatt, J. M. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01686 · Cited by 51
Self-citationThe evolutionary origins of the Global Neuronal Workspace in vertebrates
Zacks, O., & Jablonka, E. (2023) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/niad020 · Cited by 52
The Evolution of Consciousness in Phylogenetic Context
Godfrey‐Smith, P. (2017) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315742250-21 · Cited by 45
Complexity and the Evolution of Consciousness
Veit, W. (2022) · Biological Theory · doi:10.1007/s13752-022-00407-z · Cited by 53
Berret, E., Kintscher, M., Palchaudhuri, S., Tang, W., Osypenko, D., Kochubey, O., & Schneggenburger, R. (2019) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aaw0474 · Cited by 42
RetractedNon-Invasive Methods for Assessing the Welfare of Farmed White-Leg Shrimp (Penaeus vannamei)
Pedrazzani, A. S., Cozer, N., Quintiliano, M., Tavares, C. P. D. S., da Silva, U. D. A. T., & Ostrensky, A. (2023) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani13050807 · Cited by 37
The subject as cause and effect of evolution
Godfrey‐Smith, P. (2017) · Interface Focus · doi:10.1098/rsfs.2017.0022 · Cited by 46
The learning-consciousness connection
Birch, J., Ginsburg, S., & Jablonka, E. (2021) · Biology & Philosophy · doi:10.1007/s10539-021-09802-5 · Cited by 39
Runge, M., Cheung, M. W. ‐., & D’Angiulli, A. (2017) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/nix006 · Cited by 48
The stepwise development of the lamprey visual system and its evolutionary implications
Suzuki, D. G., & Grillner, S. E. (2018) · Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · doi:10.1111/brv.12403 · Cited by 39
The Mind-Evolution Problem: The Difficulty of Fitting Consciousness in an Evolutionary Framework
Gutfreund, Y. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01537 · Cited by 38
Enactment and construction of the cognitive niche: toward an ontology of the mind-world connection
Werner, K. (2018) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-018-1756-1 · Cited by 37
Soryl, A., Moore, A. J., Seddon, P. J., & King, M. R. (2021) · Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics · doi:10.1007/s10806-021-09855-2 · Cited by 36
A Temperament-Attachment-Mentalization-Based (TAM) Theory of Personality and Its Disorders
Karterud, S., & Kongerslev, M. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00518 · Cited by 37
Shoring up the precautionary BAR
Mallatt, J. (2017) · Animal Sentience · doi:10.51291/2377-7478.1229 · Cited by 9
Self-citationFunctions of consciousness: conceptual clarification
Niikawa, T., Miyahara, K., Hamada, H. T., & Nishida, S. (2022) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/niac006 · Cited by 32
Towards a Comparative Study of Animal Consciousness
Veit, W. (2022) · Biological Theory · doi:10.1007/s13752-022-00409-x · Cited by 34
I Am Conscious, Therefore, I Am: Imagery, Affect, Action, and a General Theory of Behavior
Marks, D. F. (2019) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci9050107 · Cited by 33
Ruediger, S., & Scanziani, M. (2020) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.59247 · Cited by 30
Amphioxus, motion detection, and the evolutionary origin of the vertebrate retinotectal map
Lacalli, T. C. (2018) · EvoDevo · doi:10.1186/s13227-018-0093-2 · Cited by 28
Mallatt, J. M., & Feinberg, T. E. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.732336 · Cited by 32
Self-citation(2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108695374 · Cited by 30
Culture in Mind – An Enactivist Account
Hutto, D. D., Gallagher, S., Ilundáin‐Agurruza, J., & Hipólito, I. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.009 · Cited by 29
Godfrey‐Smith, P. (2020) · Philosophy of Science · doi:10.1086/710541 · Cited by 21
Lacalli, T. C. (2021) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2020.0520 · Cited by 21
Renewed Perspectives on the Deep Roots and Broad Distribution of Animal Consciousness
Irwin, L. N. (2020) · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnsys.2020.00057 · Cited by 19
Integrated information theory does not make plant consciousness more convincing
Mallatt, J. M., Taiz, L., Draguhn, A., Blatt, M. R., & Robinson, D. G. (2021) · Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications · doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.01.022 · Cited by 21
Self-citationGendron, M., Mesquita, B., & Barrett, L. F. (2020) · Culture, Mind, and Brain · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.010 · Cited by 20
Consciousness and complexity: Neurobiological naturalism and integrated information theory
Ellia, F., & Chis-Ciure, R. (2022) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2022.103281 · Cited by 21
Minding the gut: extending embodied cognition and perception to the gut complex
Boem, F., Greslehner, G. P., Konsman, J. P., & Chiu, L. (2024) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1172783 · Cited by 17
Insect consciousness: Fine-tuning the hypothesis
Mallatt, J. M., & Feinberg, T. E. (2016) · Animal Sentience · doi:10.51291/2377-7478.1141 · Cited by 16
Self-citationAmphioxus neurocircuits, enhanced arousal, and the origin of vertebrate consciousness
Lacalli, T. C. (2018) · Consciousness and Cognition · doi:10.1016/j.concog.2018.03.006 · Cited by 18
Ward, L. M., & Erra, R. G. (2022) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2022.874241 · Cited by 21
Bronfman, Z. Z., Ginsburg, S., & Jablonka, E. (2021) · Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness · doi:10.1142/s2705078521500168 · Cited by 17
Budaev, S. V., Dumitru, M. L., Enberg, K., Handeland, S. O., Higginson, A. D., Kristiansen, T. S., Opdal, A. F., Railsback, S. F., Rønnestad, I., Vollset, K. W., et al. (2024) · Aquaculture Fish and Fisheries · doi:10.1002/aff2.153 · Cited by 17
Phagocytic intracellular digestion in amphioxus ( Branchiostoma )
He, C., Han, T., Liao, X., Zhou, Y., Wang, X., Guan, R., Tian, T., Li, Y., Bi, C., Lü, N., et al. (2018) · Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rspb.2018.0438 · Cited by 17
Werner, K. (2019) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-019-02464-7 · Cited by 10
How experimental neuroscientists can fix the hard problem of consciousness
Klein, C., & Barron, A. B. (2020) · Neuroscience of Consciousness · doi:10.1093/nc/niaa009 · Cited by 15
Fear Learning: An Evolving Picture for Plasticity at Synaptic Afferents to the Amygdala
Palchaudhuri, S., Osypenko, D., & Schneggenburger, R. (2022) · The Neuroscientist · doi:10.1177/10738584221108083 · Cited by 15
A Traditional Scientific Perspective on the Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness
Mallatt, J. M. (2021) · Entropy · doi:10.3390/e23060650 · Cited by 16
Self-citationPuzari, M. (2020) · International Journal of Tropical Insect Science · doi:10.1007/s42690-020-00317-2 · Cited by 13
Back to the Basics of Mate Choice: The Evolutionary Importance of Darwin’s Sense of Beauty
Rodríguez, R. L. (2020) · The Quarterly Review of Biology · doi:10.1086/711781 · Cited by 14
Panksepp, J. (2017) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9781119132363.ch10 · Cited by 15
Pain, placebo, and cognitive penetration
Shevlin, H., & Friesen, P. (2020) · Mind & Language · doi:10.1111/mila.12292 · Cited by 16
Chambliss, B. (2018) · Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Cognitive Science · doi:10.1002/wcs.1463 · Cited by 14
Lacalli, T. (2021) · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnsys.2021.697129 · Cited by 11
“…neocortex are involved, as has been argued for olfactory centers (Shepherd, 2007; Merrick et al., 2014; deVries and Ward, 2016), the optic tectum (Feinberg and Mallatt, 2016), subcortical telencephalic centers, and nuclei in the thalamus and midbrain (Merker, 2005, 2007, 2013; Ward, 2011;…”
BackgroundInfluentialDefending the Pathological Complexity Thesis
Veit, W. (2023) · Biological Theory · doi:10.1007/s13752-023-00430-8 · Cited by 15
There is an epistemic problem in animal consciousness research
Roige, A. (2023) · Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1007/s11097-023-09912-3 · Cited by 3
Consciousness in Jawless Fishes
Suzuki, D. G. (2021) · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnsys.2021.751876 · Cited by 11
Husserl on Minimal Mind and the Origins of Consciousness in the Natural World
Marosán, B. P. (2021) · Husserl Studies · doi:10.1007/s10743-021-09299-6 · Cited by 10
Zagaria, A., Ando, A. M. C., & Zennaro, A. (2021) · Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science · doi:10.1007/s12124-021-09613-z · Cited by 11
Editorial: Comparative animal consciousness
Irwin, L. N., Chıttka, L., Jablonka, E., & Mallatt, J. M. (2022) · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnsys.2022.998421 · Cited by 11
Self-citationNovac, A., Tuttle, M. C., & Blinder, B. J. (2019) · Journal of Infant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy · doi:10.1080/15289168.2019.1583053 · Cited by 10
Vertebrate origins are informed by larval lampreys (ammocoetes): a response to Miyashitaet al., 2021
Mallatt, J. M. (2022) · Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society · doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac086 · Cited by 10
Self-citationNeuroanthropological Perspectives on Culture, Mind, and Brain
Lende, D. H., & Downey, G. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.014 · Cited by 10
D’Angiulli, A., Kenney, D. M., Pham, D. A. T., Lefebvre, E., Bellavance, J., & Buchanan, D. M. (2021) · Symmetry · doi:10.3390/sym13081549 · Cited by 9
On the origins and evolution of qualia: An experience-space perspective
Lacalli, T. C. (2022) · Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnsys.2022.945722 · Cited by 9
Place and Environment in the Ongoing Evolution of Cognitive Neuroscience
Irwin, L. N., & Irwin, B. A. (2020) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/jocn_a_01607 · Cited by 8
Mutual Constitution of Culture and the Mind
Kitayama, S., & Yu, Q. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.006 · Cited by 9
The Communication-Language Hypothesis for the Evolution of Consciousness
Massmann, D. F. (2024) · Veritas (Porto Alegre) · doi:10.15448/1984-6746.2024.1.46080 · Cited by 7
Kirmayer, L. J., Worthman, C. M., & Kitayama, S. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.028 · Cited by 8
What Can We Sense? Interoceptive Accuracy
Köteles, F. G. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-63201-4_4 · Cited by 7
Black widow spiders use path integration on their webs
Sergi, C., Antonopoulos, T., & Rodrı́guez, R. L. (2021) · Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology · doi:10.1007/s00265-021-03009-0 · Cited by 7
Learning and the biology of consciousness: a commentary on Birch, Ginsburg, and Jablonka
Godfrey‐Smith, P. (2021) · Biology & Philosophy · doi:10.1007/s10539-021-09820-3 · Cited by 7
Godfrey‐Smith, P. (2019) · Animal Sentience · doi:10.51291/2377-7478.1503 · Cited by 7
Analyzing the etiological functions of consciousness
Black, D. (2020) · Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1007/s11097-020-09693-z · Cited by 8
Neurodiversity as a Conceptual Lens and Topic of Cross-Cultural Study
Cascio, M. A. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.027 · Cited by 7
Palchaudhuri, S., Lin, B.-X., Osypenko, D., Wu, J., Kochubey, O., & Schneggenburger, R. (2025) · Cell Reports · doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115320 · Cited by 7
Tonic immobility and phenomenal consciousness in animals: a review
Woodruff, M. L. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1509999 · Cited by 8
To Make a Mind—A Primer on Conscious Robots
Navon, M. (2024) · Theology and Science · doi:10.1080/14746700.2023.2294530 · Cited by 8
Interpreting amphioxus, and thoughts on ancestral chordate mouths and brains
Lacalli, T. C. (2017) · The International Journal of Developmental Biology · doi:10.1387/ijdb.170105tl · Cited by 6
Kirmayer, L. J., Gómez-Carrillo, A., Langlois‐Thérien, T., Ramstead, M. J. D., & Gold, I. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.012 · Cited by 6
When is a brain organoid a sentience candidate?
Birch, J. (2024) · Molecular Psychology Brain Behavior and Society · doi:10.12688/molpsychol.17524.2 · Cited by 5
Neuroscience of animal consciousness: still agnostic after all
Gutfreund, Y. (2024) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1456403 · Cited by 6
Full Naturalism: The Objectivity of Subjective Points of View
Keijzer, F. (2025) · Biological Theory · doi:10.1007/s13752-025-00493-9 · Cited by 5
On the mirror test and the evolutionary origin of self-awareness in vertebrates
Kohda, M., Sogawa, S., & Bshary, R. (2025) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2024.0312 · Cited by 6
Cultural Priming Effects and the Human Brain
Han, S., & Northoff, G. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.011 · Cited by 5
Kirmayer, L. J., Worthman, C. M., & Kitayama, S. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.002 · Cited by 6
Becerra, D., Calixto, A., & Orio, P. (2023) · International journal of psychological research · doi:10.21500/20112084.6487 · Cited by 5
The genesis of the minimal mind: elements of a phenomenological and functional account
Marosán, B. P. (2023) · Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1007/s11097-023-09946-7 · Cited by 5
How to Live in the Moment: The Methodology and Limitations of Evolutionary Research on Consciousness
de Weerd, C. R., & Dung, L. (2025) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1111/cogs.70053 · Cited by 5
Ritual and Religion as Social Technologies of Cooperation
Kavanagh, C. M., Jong, J., & Whitehouse, H. (2020) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.016 · Cited by 7
Metadata
- Authors
- Feinberg, T. E., & Mallatt, J. M.
- ORCID
- Mallatt, Jon M.
- Venue
- The MIT Press eBooks
- Publisher
- The MIT Press
- Published
- 2016-03-25
- OpenAlex
- W2484987043
- Cited by
- 243
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 32 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 3
- FWCI
- 7.06
- Type
- book
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The MIT Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy of Biology and Scientific Explanation
- Keywords
- consciousness, evolution of consciousness, Cambrian explosion, subjective experience, sentience, arthropods, cephalopods, octopus, fish, hard problem of consciousness, origin of consciousness, neuroscience of consciousness
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
