What Is It Like to be a RHiNoCERoS?

In this essay, I propose that the Hard Problem of Consciousness can be better understood by analogy with a logically similar problem in biology: the Hard Problem of Phenotypes. I outline the many ways in which these problems are alike, strongly suggesting that phenotypes and consciousness play an equivalent role in their respective domains. I then show that the way in which phenotypes emerged, via the evolution of the genetic code, translates straightforwardly to the emergence of consciousness, and also allows the intrinsic/subjective component of conscious experience to be clearly delineated and then distinctively characterized. I thereby introduce a novel conceptualization of consciousness: the RHiNoCERoS.