Non‐human consciousness and the specificity problem: A modest theoretical proposal
Mind & Language2021Vol. 36(2), pp. 297–314
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2021 papers
Abstract
Most scientific theories of consciousness are challenging to apply outside the human case insofar as non‐human systems (both biological and artificial) are unlikely to implement human architecture precisely, an issue I call the specificity problem . After providing some background on the theories of consciousness debate, I survey the prospects of four approaches to this problem. I then consider a fifth solution, namely the theory‐light approach proposed by Jonathan Birch. I defend a modified version of this that I term the modest theoretical approach , arguing that it may provide insights into challenging cases that would otherwise be intractable.
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