Clarifying terms is essential because vague definitions lead to circular arguments and confusion. Consciousness is a complex, multifaceted concept that can refer to different cognitive abilities depending on context. A useful working sense treats consciousness as lived subjective experience — the 'what it feels like' to be an organism — which includes creativity, subjective feeling, and the capacity to weigh options. Animals appear primarily motivated by seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, driving behavior through cost–benefit calculations. Examples like donkeys and dogs illustrate how sensations and incentives shape action. Recognizing these components helps distinguish discussions of AI cognition from mismatched topics.
A lot of what you read about "consciousness" is at risk of getting a failing grade because the concept is so complex that we cannot assume we all mean the same thing when we use it. Someone might start an article on whether AI can be conscious by talking about one cognitive ability but then end up talking about something completely different before you can say "non sequitur."
For many scientists, consciousness is not a single entity but a complex cluster of cognitive abilities, any one of which could merit its own special issue. But for the author and philosopher of science Peter Godfrey-Smith, the term is a broad, inclusive category most people often use to refer to someone's lived experience - the "what it feels like" to be you.
If you wanted to reduce the entirety of animal cognition to one sentence, you could say "animals only care about getting pleasure and avoiding pain." A donkey only moves because it cowers from the stick and hankers after the carrot. A dog is loyal to its owner because it's pleasant to get strokes and it's scared of being alone. As Thomas Hobbes argued, humans are motivated almost entirely by fear.
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