The 21 st Century Mind-Body Problem
Philosophy of Science August 10, 2026 DOI: 10.1017/psa.2026.10274 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the mind/body problem is shifting from a human-focused question to one about structuring diverse minds hierarchically in relation to phylogeny, and that this shift impacts evaluations of claims about possible artificial (AI) consciousness. |
Abstract
Abstract This paper articulates how recent advances in comparative behavioral and biological research are changing the nature of the mind/body problem from a human mind/human body problem to a problem of conceptualizing and organizing diverse types of minds in a hierarchical relational structure that is non-contingently related to phylogeny. It also discusses the impact of this refinement on our assessments of modal claims about possible artificial (AI) consciousness.