Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ Why Can’t the World’s Greatest Minds Solve the Mystery of Consciousness?

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

This is generally a good article providing an overview of the contribution of David Chalmers to the consciousness debate. I like the way Chalmers frames the question as "the hard problem". Consciousness is not the sort of thing we can understand by understanding the physical mechanisms that produce it, it seems. But I disagree with the article's suggestion that the debate has only recently emerged. The problem of consciousness periodically produces some of the best work in philosophy, such as Thomas Nagel's What is it Like to be a Bat? For those interested in my own position on consciousness, you can always read my paper on the subject here (see also Matthias Mecher's summary and diagram).

Today: 0 Total: 14 [Direct link] [Share]


Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

Copyright 2024
Last Updated: Dec 22, 2024 03:55 a.m.

Canadian Flag Creative Commons License.

Force:yes