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Consciousness is not "universal" but depends on specifically organized biological affordances

  • Eva Jablonka
  • , Simona Ginsburg
  • , Zohar Z. Bronfman

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Seth's claim that only biological or biological-like systems can be conscious leaves open the question of what renders only some organisms conscious. We address this question by pointing to the material, ontogenetic, memory, and evaluative affordances of living organisms and arguing that evolved, minimal consciousness requires complex cognitive-affective architecture for which these biological affordances are obligatory. Conscious thinking of humans cannot be separated from minimal consciousness, and non-biological AI robots' computations do not render these operations conscious.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)e340
JournalThe Behavioral and brain sciences
Volume49
DOIs
StatePublished - 17 Sep 2026

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