Why biological naturalism? Because consciousness requires having your own good
Rosa Cao, David Gottlieb, Jared Moore
Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2026 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x25103804 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that living things are valuing subjects because they have internalized optimization processes tied to persistence that assess whether things are going well or poorly and adjust accordingly, and proposes that integrating these evaluations from diverse sources and making them widely available provides the basis for conscious experience. |
Abstract
Abstract Living things are special because they are valuing subjects, for whom things can be good or bad. This is in virtue of their having internalized optimization processes, tied to persistence, that evaluate whether things are going well or poorly and adjust appropriately. Those evaluations, when integrated from diverse sources and widely available, provide the basis for conscious experience.