Attributions of consciousness.
Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science November 1, 2014 Justin Sytsma 17 citations
Many philosophers and brain scientists consider explaining consciousness a major unsolved problem, with phenomenal consciousness seen as especially challenging. The belief that this phenomenon exists often relies on the claim that its existence is obvious in ordinary perceptual experience. This motivates studying people's intuitions about consciousness. Researchers in experimental philosophy have investigated how lay people understand and attribute mental states thought to be phenomenally conscious. This article discusses the philosophical concept of phenomenal consciousness and reviews work on whether non-experts possess this concept.