Sam Harris On Defining Consciousness

[Angrboda]

This is the definition I've used for conscious since the beginning, I'm adding no extra semantical anything Ben.  It's a definition you'll find if you google the word, and it's what we mean when we say that something is conscious.  Just -what- you are aware of is exactly why we have the terms conscious -and- self conscious.  

This may simply be an artifact of old philosophical baggage. The soul or mind has been presumed for a long time to be an accurate reflection of perception. That what's in the mind is simply a 'copy' of what's out there. But what if that assumption is wrong? Dictionary definitions are fine for scrabble but not for settling philosophical or empirical questions.

I also see a problem in using behavior to settle the question of what is conscious. It's over-inclusive. It can't differentiate between things that appear conscious because they have a repertoire of unconscious behaviors that mimics awareness and behaviors that are indeed motivated by awareness. From the outside, you can't tell if there is any 'inside' there. You seem to be striving on a two-pronged semantic game: removing the conscious from consciousness on one side, while debasing what is needed to demonstrate consciousness on the other. It may settle an argument but it won't settle the question. It's just a game with words.