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Edelman has asked whether we should attempt to construct models of functioning minds or models of brains which, through interactions with their surroundings, can develop minds? Edelman's answer is that we should make model brains and pay attention to how they interact with their environment. In contrast with philosopher Daniel Dennett, Edelman accepts the existence of qualiaQualia (singular: "quale") are most simply defined as the properties of sensory experiences by virtue of which there is something it is like to have them. These properties are, by definition, epistemically unknowable in the absence of direct experience of and incorporates them into his brain-based theory of mind.
Edelman expounds a biological theory of consciousness, which he explicitly locates within DarwinThe word Darwin when used alone, has several possible meanings in the English language. It became popular largely due to the findings of Charles Darwin regarding natural selection. The term "Darwin", when used by itself can refer to: Apple Darwin, a BSD b's Theory of Natural Selection and Darwinian theories of population dynamics. He rejects dualismIn philosophy of mind, dualism is a set of beliefs which begin with the claim that mental events and physical events are totally different kinds of events. It is constrasted with varying kinds of monism, including materialism and phenomenalism. Dualism is and also dismisses newer hypotheses such as the so-called 'computational' model of consciousness, which liken the brain's functions to the operations of a computer.
Edelman argues that the mind and consciousness are wholly material and purely biological phenomena, occurring as highly complex cellular processes within the brain, and that the development of consciousness and intelligence can be satisfactorally explained by Darwinian theory.