I doubt if so remarkable a development would have persisted if it had no value for survival?? With diffidence and humility I depart from Spinoza in rejecting determinism. For determinism would make consciousness a superfluous encumbrance, and I doubt if so remarkable a development would have persisted if it had no value for survival. Part of its value is that it can serve as a rehearsal stage for testing diverse possible responses to a situation, imagining or forecasting the results of each potential response in the light of remembered experience, and letting the rehearsal affect the final action. I would like to know what does "it" in the first sentence refer to , " determinism" or "consciousness". Thanks.