Minds Matter
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19234792 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Joseph Gottlieb (0000-0001-9014-8487, Texas Tech University, corresponding author), Jacob Berger (0000-0001-7221-1753, Lycoming College), Bob Fischer (0000-0001-9605-393X, Texas State University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-17 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Utilitas (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0953-8208 • E-ISSN: 1741-6183 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0953820826100338 |
| OpenAlex | W7164305866 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 46 |
Many claim that there is an important relationship between consciousness and welfare. Call this general view phenomenalism . One way of fleshing out phenomenalism is to hold that consciousness is what makes one the type of entity that can be noninstrumentally better or worse off in the first place. Consciousness is at least a necessary condition on welfare subjecthood . A different account holds that even if consciousness is not necessary for welfare subjecthood, conscious welfare subjects have a greater welfare capacity . We argue that the most likely source of support for either version of phenomenalism – hedonism about welfare goods and bads – provides no support at all. Along the way, we discuss an alternative view of welfare subjectivity and welfare capacity that does not appeal to consciousness but only to mentality, a view we call mentalism
Appeal · Consciousness · Hedonism · Subjectivity · Welfare · Free Will and Agency · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy and Theoretical Science
The Conscious Brain
Unconscious influences on decision making
Consciousness, accessibility, and the mesh between psychology and neuroscience
Telling more than we can know
Unconscious perception and central coordinating agency
Consciousness and welfare subjectivity
Evidence that instrumental conditioning requires conscious awareness in humans
Cognitive and emotional processes during dreaming
What the Body Commands
Pain and Bodily Care
The Uses and Abuses of the Personal/Subpersonal Distinction
Unfelt pain
What Is The Connection Principle
The Good Life
The Phenomenology of Cognition Or What Is It Like to Think That P
The Anna Karenina Principle and Skepticism about Unconscious Perception
Valence and Value
The sentience argument for experientialism about welfare
The experience requirement on well-being
Desire Satisfactionism and Hedonism
The Rediscovery of the Mind
Materialism and the Moral Status of Animals
Why should Welfare 'Fit
Pain demands attention
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |