Hard problems often require drastic solutions. It frequently takes 

 a revolution in our way of looking at things to overcome the im- 

 passe. And this invariably means questioning assumptions long con- 

 sidered valid. A good example is the assumption that mind can be 

 neatly separated from body. We now use the term dualism for this 

 idea, and it still enjoys wide support, not the least among religious 

 people. Descartes was one of its most ardent advocates. Dualism 

 regards mind and soul as two aspects of the same thing, so when 

 the soul survives death, there is still a mind to make survival worth- 

 while. 



Another assumption about consciousness is even more wide- 

 spread. It is tacitly invoked by most scientists working in this area, 

 and it has been part of the unquestioned picture ever since the time 

 of Aristotle. This is the stimulus-response paradigm, and it views 

 consciousness as intervening between detection of sensory input and 

 the resulting reaction (see fig. 1. left). This is commonly regarded 

 as obviously reliable because it appears to harmonize with common 

 sense. For example, when the reader scans these words — a visual 

 stimulus — he or she can contemplate their meaning and respond 

 accordingly — by reading on. or by discarding my text and doing 

 something else. It seems logical to conclude that the conscious con- 

 templation is quite distinct from the response, that is to say the 

 possible reaction. 



I suspect that acceptance of the stimulus-response paradigm stems 

 from knowledge of simple reflexes. The doctor taps me with his 

 little rubber hammer, just under the knee, and up jumps my lower 

 leg. Similarly, using other sensory pathways, my head turns instinc- 

 tively toward a sudden sound or flash of light. In such cases, the 

 stimulus-response paradigm just has to be correct. But the question 

 remains as to whether it can be validly extended to consciousness. 

 My suspicion is that it cannot, and that this is where the need for 

 draconian measures arises. But before I can persuade you on that 

 point, we will have to delve deeper into stimuli and the reactions 

 they might elicit. So let us start by taking a closer look at responses. 



The Primacy of Movement 



Elephants are said never to forget, though one could ask what 

 they actually have to remember. Relatively little compared with us. 



