Machine Moral Status: Moral Properties and the Consciousness Criterion

This chapter explores the fundamental aspects of moral status with a focus on the necessary and sufficient conditions for it. It posits that only phenomenally conscious beings can possess moral status and highlights two properties either of which is sufficient for it: sentience (the capacity for positively and negatively valenced experiences) and sapience (the capacity for self-awareness and rational autonomy). The chapter argues that purely functional interpretations of these properties render them morally vacuous, underscoring the necessity of consciousness for moral status. Addressing objections from scholars like David Gunkel and Mark Coeckelbergh, the chapter acknowledges the conditional validity of certain critiques but maintains that they do not successfully invalidate the consciousness criterion. Ultimately, the chapter concludes that there are compelling reasons to affirm the moral importance of consciousness and no comparably good reasons to reject it.