Consciousness; research says insects have it (Introduction)

by dhw, Sunday, July 03, 2016, 12:20 (2854 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Work on the insect midbrain develops the finding that insects have feelings of consciousness:
http://pestweb.com/pests-in-the-news/a816e74c/insects-have-consciousness-self-awareness...-QUOTE: "Insects are conscious, egocentric beings, according to a new paper that also helps to explain why and likely when consciousness first evolved. 
"Van Swinderen told Discovery News that one of the most important points of the new paper is the realization that understanding the evolution of consciousness will not come from looking for intelligent behavior in other animals, but rather from understanding the fundamental mechanisms that support subjective awareness and selective attention, which he said “we now know insects have.” -A very interesting comment. If these mechanisms “support” subjective awareness, the implication is that they do not cause it. Some of us would argue that we know insects have subjective awareness and selective attention and consciousness by observing their behaviour - as confirmed by their ability to solve problems, take decisions, create complex structures. All organisms with brains will have brain activity, but the question remains whether the brain produces awareness or is activated by awareness. We have no answer to the mystery of consciousness, but if the brain is not the producer and only the support, we are back to some form of dualism. Like you, David, the researchers dismiss the idea that brainless plants, jellyfish and certain nematodes could be conscious - and they would no doubt include bacteria in that category - but I wonder if they would also agree with you that these organisms must have been preprogrammed 3.8 billion years ago to behave intelligently, or that God has personally intervened to “guide” or “help” them to behave as if they are intelligent. If they don't agree with you, they have a problem explaining what appears to be intelligent behaviour. The problem is illustrated under "Bacteria farm algae":
 
QUOTE: "Both the bacteria and the algae appear to benefit from the arrangement, reminiscent of ants farming aphids. “I suspect it's mutualism,” says Rita Colwell of the University of Maryland at College Park. “They wouldn't be there if it wasn't beneficial to both parties.”
David's comment: Very similar to ants herding aphids.-Yes indeed, very similar. But ants have brains and do it consciously, whereas bacteria do not have brains and therefore presumably do it unconsciously. It would seem that the insect researchers consider insects to be intelligent enough to devise their own strategies, whereas you do not: ants and bacteria all have to be "helped" or "guided" to do their farming. I would suggest that the anomaly created by the ant/bacteria analogy is resolved by taking the opposite view to both yours and that of the insect researchers: that if brains are "supports" and not the source of consciousness, organisms without brains simply have different means of translating their consciousness into action.