Consciousness and Biology

Just how tightly do biological facts constrain facts about consciousness? Are radically alien or machine minds possible? Or is a mind without a brain like a square without corners? We tackle these questions in this latest installment of the MindChunks video series. This is excerpted from the discussion Richard Brown and Pete Mandik had with Eric Schwitzgebel. For the rest, be sure to check out Episode 8: Alien and Machine Minds.

Are there biological requirements on consciousness? Do we know enough about what life is to use it as a meaningful test on what does and doesn't have consciousness? Richard Brown leans toward "yes" while Pete Mandik leans toward "no." This is an excerpt from our conversation with philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel.