Neuroscience’s definition of consciousness is in a complete muddle.
Research labs are now routinely looking at the activity of so-called brain organoids to try to learn about neurological diseases and conditions. This must be a worthy aim. Researchers are using stem cells to create the organoids. In some cases, the stem cells are human, as therefore are the brain organoids. The tricky part comes when some neuroscientists claim that the organoids are conscious. Some ethicists say that such experiments must cease because the organoids do indeed have consciousness. How on earth do they know that this is the case? We still do not have a clear and agreed-upon definition of consciousness. Nor do we know how and where it is instantiated in the brain. Nor do we know which animals possess it and which do not. There are many theories but there is no consensus. The world of neuroscience must stop throwing around the term consciousness until it knows what it is.
Link to article: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02986-y
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