Your inference was due to the fact that they were smiling and therefore must find the joke amusing in some way. Now, how do humans connect certain actions with specific emotions? For instance, are we sure that smiling and laughing really mean that a person is enjoying himself or herself; or that crying means a person is feeling sadness? Of course we do. This is simply from what we know about ourselves; we usually cry when we"re happy, and weep when we are sad. Consciousness is the awareness of feeling when you experience something, having a sense of self. If a human did not possess a sense of self-awareness in a situation, or experience, they could not assess how the situation impacted them and consequently could not display an outward show of their assessment. A person without self-awareness could not tell you or show you feeling, merely because they would not be aware they have a feeling. Rodney on the other hand, is aware he has feeling. He shows his feeling through emotion- like behavior, therefore, he can be considered conscious. In humans, we determine feelings through evidence of their actions and behavior. Rodney's behavior confirms that he too can feel.
The Turing Test, named after Alan Turing, demonstrates that behavior is sufficient for consciousness. When you enter into a conversation with the machine, asking its questions and receiving answers, it is reasonable to declare the machine conscious if its behavior were indistinguishable from a normal human. Its brain is made of wires and circuits that function similarly to our nerves and neural networks. For that reason, the machine can perform similarly to humans in thought, understanding and reason.
Searle's reply to my argument, that consciousness lies within a beings understanding and awareness of self, would lend itself to his Chinese Room example. This example refers to a scenario where a man is locked in a room and given a large batch of Chinese writings.
