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Consciousness matters: phenomenal experience has functional value.

Axel Cleeremans1, Catherine Tallon-Baudry2

  • 1Consciousness, Cognition & Computation Group, Center for Research in Cognition & Neuroscience, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.

Neuroscience of Consciousness
|April 28, 2022
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Consciousness has a function because subjective experiences possess intrinsic value. This "phenomenal worthiness" drives agent motivation and decision-making, offering a new perspective on the purpose of consciousness.

Keywords:
consciousnessfeelingfunctionhard problemphenomenal experience

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Classical views often consider subjective experience an epiphenomenon with no functional advantage.
  • The
  • hard problem
  • of consciousness remains a significant challenge in understanding subjective experience.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose that subjective experience has intrinsic value and thus a function.
  • To introduce the
  • phenomenal worthiness
  • hypothesis.
  • To reframe the
  • hard problem
  • of consciousness as a problem of function.

Main Methods:

  • Reviewing the concept of value in decision-making, emotion research, and consciousness research.
  • Developing the
  • phenomenal worthiness
  • hypothesis.
  • Analyzing the role of subjective experience in guiding behavior.

Main Results:

  • Subjective experience is endowed with intrinsic value.
  • This intrinsic value explains why agents act and make preferences.
  • Consciousness functions as a unified mental currency for comparing experiences.

Conclusions:

  • Phenomenal consciousness has intrinsic value and therefore a function.
  • The
  • phenomenal worthiness
  • hypothesis offers a tractable approach to the
  • hard problem
  • of consciousness.
  • Consciousness is essential for motivated action and preference formation.