Is “Consciousness” a folk psychological concept?

This paper investigates whether the concept of “phenomenal consciousness” is an integral component of ordinary folk psychology or a theoretical construct devised within a specific epistemic community. Advocates of what I term the Folk- “Consciousness” Thesis argue that laypeople already possess such a concept, citing experimental findings in support of this view. In contrast, I draw on recent work in experimental philosophy and social psychology to develop the Constructivist Hypothesis of “Consciousness.” According to this view, “phenomenal consciousness” is not a pre-theoretical folk concept, but a post-theoretical construct shaped by the explanatory aims of cognitive scientists and, most prominently, philosophers of mind. This reconceptualization challenges the widespread assumption that “phenomenal consciousness” belongs to ordinary conceptual practice, situating it instead as a technical notion engineered to address specific theoretical and empirical problems.