The evolution of consciousness is seen in the context of energy-driven
evolution in general, where energy and information are understood as
two sides of the same coin. From this perspective consciousness is vie
wed as an ecological system in which streams of cognitive, perceptual,
and emotional information form a rich complex of interactions, analog
ous to the interactive metabolism of a living cell. The result is an o
rganic, self-generating, or 'autopoietic', system, continuously in the
act of creating itself. Evidence suggests that this process is chaoti
c, or at least chaotic-like, and capable of assuming a number of disti
nct states best understood as chaotic attractors. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sc
ience Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.