Tool evolution as a prerequisite for consciousness

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Science
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• The extended mind concept views external object modification (externalizations) as crucial for environmental adaptation.
• Toolmaking and use represent advanced, evolving stages of externalizations.
• Tools can be mapped onto an evolutionary tree, demonstrating their developmental lineage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore tool evolution as a Darwinian process.
• To examine the role of social transmission in tool development.
• To investigate the link between tool evolution, sociality, and higher cognition.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of tool evolution through a Darwinian lens.
• Examination of the 'ostensive triangle' for social instruction transmission.
• Analysis of motor acts as replicable, transmissible 'code' for tool construction.

Main Results:

• Tool evolution aligns with Darwinian criteria: tools (phenotype) are selected based on their utility, with building instructions (genotype) being socially transmitted.
• The 'ostensive triangle' facilitates the social transmission of tool-building instructions.
• Tool use synchronizes perceptions, fosters understanding, modifies social networks, and promotes prosociality.

Conclusions:

• Tool evolution is a fundamental driver of cumulative cultural evolution and the development of higher cognition.
• The 'tool-sphere' has accelerated prosociality and the acquisition of a third-person perspective.
• A neuroscience approach focusing on externalizations is needed to understand the origins of cognition and consciousness.