Infants, the marker method, and the nature of consciousness
Philosophy and the Mind Sciences July 6, 2026 Jacob Berger, Lori M. Curtindale
A method for determining whether nonverbal organisms like human infants are conscious, called the marker methodology, has gained attention but is fundamentally flawed. This approach uses markers thought to correlate with consciousness instead of relying on theories of consciousness. The authors argue that this method is unlike other scientific investigations because its markers are derived neither from theory nor from commonsense conceptions of the target phenomenon. They contend the marker method should be abandoned and propose using commonsense markers instead to explore infant and other forms of consciousness.