Hi Ben—Thanks for this. I agree that the PVS case is tricky, and probably not the best example. I assume that you are claiming that PVS patients are still phenomenally conscious, and that you are pointing to this study. (Note though that the authors never use “phenomenally conscious”.) However, as expected, the Owen et al study is controversial. I find this paper helpful when it comes to understanding some of the underlying methodological issues. One issue is whether these patients actually have intentional agency—perhaps suggested by their task responses—as this is often used as the diagnostic criterion for inferring that these subjects are (minimally?) conscious. It’s unclear whether they have such agency (see here), although this would not itself eliminate consciousness. So, fair point!
I agree—it’s very unclear what the level of intention, awareness, or phenomenal consciousness is in these cases. The 2006 study is definitely the foundational one, but there’s a decent amount of subsequent literature (though without much further clarity). I thought of this point because I’m currently reading Anil Seth’s 2021 book on the neuroscience of consciousness, “Being You”, which covers the topic quite well. (I’d highly recommend it to other interested readers!) But this was a very minor nitpick on a fascinating report—well done!
Hi Ben—Thanks for this. I agree that the PVS case is tricky, and probably not the best example. I assume that you are claiming that PVS patients are still phenomenally conscious, and that you are pointing to this study. (Note though that the authors never use “phenomenally conscious”.) However, as expected, the Owen et al study is controversial. I find this paper helpful when it comes to understanding some of the underlying methodological issues. One issue is whether these patients actually have intentional agency—perhaps suggested by their task responses—as this is often used as the diagnostic criterion for inferring that these subjects are (minimally?) conscious. It’s unclear whether they have such agency (see here), although this would not itself eliminate consciousness. So, fair point!
I agree—it’s very unclear what the level of intention, awareness, or phenomenal consciousness is in these cases. The 2006 study is definitely the foundational one, but there’s a decent amount of subsequent literature (though without much further clarity). I thought of this point because I’m currently reading Anil Seth’s 2021 book on the neuroscience of consciousness, “Being You”, which covers the topic quite well. (I’d highly recommend it to other interested readers!)
But this was a very minor nitpick on a fascinating report—well done!