Does the Body Matter? Perspectives on the Embodied Nature of Consciousness

Abstract

This chapter explores the fundamental question of whether a physical body is necessary for consciousness. Moving beyond traditional views in neuroscience and artificial intelligence that often marginalise the body, the authors argue that embodiment should be considered the default condition for conscious experience. By integrating perspectives from machine learning, psychology, and clinical neuroscience, the text examines how the body serves as a foundational anchor for perception, intelligence, and social cognition. The chapter investigates how agents represent space through egocentric and allocentric coordinates, the relationship between bodily constraints and intelligence, and the role of internal bodily signals, known as interoception, in creating the “feeling” of being in the world. It also addresses complex counterarguments, such as locked-in syndrome and blindsight, to demonstrate that even in states of paralysis or unawareness, conscious experience remains fundamentally grounded in the body. Ultimately, the authors provide readers with a comprehensive scaffold for understanding why subjective awareness cannot be replicated by information processing alone, suggesting that future advancements in artificial intelligence must prioritise robotics and embodied experience to model conscious awareness.