Ordinary human experience is embedded in a web of causal relations that link the brain to the body and the wider environment. However, there might be conditions in which brain activity supports consciousness even when that activity is fully causally isolated from the body and its environment. Such cases would involve what we call islands of awareness: conscious states that are neither shaped by sensory input nor able to be expressed by motor output. This opinion article considers conditions in which such islands might occur, including ex cranio brains, hemispherotomy, and in cerebral organoids. We examine possible methods for detecting islands of awareness, and consider their implications for ethics and for the nature of consciousness.

中文翻译：

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有意识岛吗？

普通的人类经验嵌入在因果关系网中，将大脑与身体和更广泛的环境联系起来。然而，在某些情况下，即使大脑活动与身体及其环境完全有因果关系，大脑活动也会支持意识。这种情况将涉及我们所谓的意识孤岛：既不是由感觉输入塑造的，也不能由运动输出表达的意识状态。这篇意见文章考虑了可能出现此类岛屿的条件，包括前颅脑、半球切开术和大脑类器官。我们研究了检测意识孤岛的可能方法，并考虑了它们对伦理和意识本质的影响。