Experiencing: A jamesian approach

This paper suggests an approach to consciousness that focuses on the evolutionary transition from pre-conscious animals to the simplest types of conscious (experiencing) animals. Our argument is that experiencing originated with the evolution of associative learn- ing, and that one of the major functions of experiencing was what Wil- liam James called 'fighting for ends': endowing animals with motivation. We propose that the sensory states generated during asso- ciative learning act as internal guides and selectors of new neural relations, new behaviours, and new ends, leading to the unitary, sub- jective and intentional internal dynamic states that we recognize as experiencing.