What if consciousness has no function?
Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2016 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x15002010 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that a proposed theory of consciousness is implicitly dualist or Cartesian materialist, assigns consciousness a function without considering that it may have none of its own, and invokes "subset consensus" and "integration consensus" that the author contends do not exist in the literature. |
Abstract
Abstract: An implicitly dualist or Cartesian materialist theory of consciousness is proposed without citing the many well-known problems with such theories. A function for consciousness is proposed with no reference to the possibility that “consciousness itself” has no function of its own. The theory builds on proposed “subset consensus” and “integration consensus” when in the literature there is no such consensus on these issues.
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- The function(s) of consciousness: an evolutionary perspective. Frontiers in Psychology 2024
- What is consciousness and what it is for. An introduction to extended information theory. Frontiers in Psychology 2025
- Qualities, subjectivity and spatial extension: is there a common factor? Frontiers in Psychology June 29, 2026