ABSTRACT
This chapter will address the extent to which nonhuman animals are conscious and whether or not machines could be conscious. This importantly extends the overall problem of consciousness beyond human consciousness to two major areas in contemporary consciousness studies. Regarding animals, most important perhaps is what criteria should be used when inferring that an animal is conscious. We have also come a long way from the Cartesian view that animals are mere “automata” and do not even have conscious experience. In addition to the obviously significant behavioral similarities between humans and many animals, much more is known today about our neurophysiological similarities.
