Functions of consciousness: conceptual clarification
Neuroscience of Consciousness January 1, 2022 T. Niikawa, Katsunori Miyahara, H. Hamada et al.
The paper develops a conceptual framework to clarify theories about the functions of consciousness, organizing them along three dimensions: target (the kind of consciousness addressed), explanatory order (how consciousness and function relate causally or conceptually), and necessity/sufficiency (whether consciousness is necessary, sufficient, both, or neither for a given function). Applying this framework to existing scientific and philosophical theories demonstrates its usefulness for comparing, assessing, and potentially integrating diverse accounts of what consciousness does.