The Value of Consciousness
Analysis July 1, 2019 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1093/analys/anz045 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
Consciousness may have value, but its value is debated across several philosophical fields. This paper reviews work in epistemology, well-being, ethics, and philosophy of science to argue that these discussions address a single underlying question: what is the value of consciousness? It offers a unified theoretical framework to connect contributions from these areas.
Study at a glance
| Design | theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Disparate philosophical discussions about consciousness address a single underlying question about its value, and a unified theoretical framework can connect them. |
Abstract
Recent work within such disparate research areas as the epistemology of perception, theories of well-being, animal and medical ethics, the philosophy of consciousness, and theories of understanding in philosophy of science and epistemology has featured disconnected discussions of what is arguably a single underlying question: What is the value of consciousness? The purpose of this paper is to review some of this work and place it within a unified theoretical framework that makes contributions (and contributors) from these disparate areas more visible to each other.