Are infants conscious?
Philosophical Perspectives October 17, 2023 DOI: 10.1111/phpe.12192 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 46 |
| Key points | Argues that newborn infants are conscious and proposes a methodology for investigating infant consciousness, using behavioral and neurobiological markers alongside philosophical and scientific theories of consciousness to assess what those theories predict about infant consciousness. |
Abstract
Abstract I argue that newborn infants are conscious. I propose a methodology for investigating infant consciousness and I present two approaches for determining whether newborns are conscious. First, I consider behavioral and neurobiological markers of consciousness.Second, I investigate the major theories of consciousness, including both philosophical and scientific theories, and I discuss what they predict about infant consciousness.
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Extrapolating Other Consciousnesses: The Prospects and Limits of Analogical Abduction Philosophy of Science August 27, 2025
- Markers of consciousness in infants: Towards a 'cluster-based' approach. Acta Paediatrica February 1, 2025
- Can only meat machines be conscious? Trends in Cognitive Sciences April 1, 2026
- Tests for consciousness in humans and beyond. Trends in Cognitive Sciences March 1, 2024
Cites 8
- Ten Problems of Consciousness The MIT Press eBooks November 17, 1995
- Neural correlates of consciousness: progress and problems Nature Reviews Neuroscience April 20, 2016
- Consciousness as Integrated Information: a Provisional Manifesto Biological Bulletin December 1, 2008
- Theories of consciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 1, 2022
- Are There Levels of Consciousness? Trends in Cognitive Sciences April 22, 2016
and 3 more in the library