Purpose:

To review the current advances and current of the study of consciousness in order to discuss the advantages of a research program on consciousness defined by biology and complexity sciences.

Methodological design:

A review of the scientific literature of consciousness showed conceptual and methodological findings and their limitations. An analysis of the methods of complexity sciences and biology was carried out to discuss how this approach is able to contribute to the study of consciousness.

Results:

Among the comparative development of different current theories on consciousness we have the Theory of the integration of information and the Theory of the global work area. We also present a working scheme with the methods of complexity sciences and suggest evolutionary biology as a framework for the interpretation of the results.

Research Limitations:

A lack of consensus on definition makes it difficult to integrate empirical data into a general theory of consciousness.

Findings:

Six points were discussed as necessary for the research program of evolutionary biology and complexity, such as: the adaptive functional analysis of consciousness, the emergence of modular structures, evolutionary novelties, the genetic correspondence of cognitive abilities, the effect of the environment and reciprocal causality.