The Hard Problem of Consciousness from a Bio-Psychological Perspective
November 28, 2017 F. K. Jansen
The hard problem of consciousness, introduced by Chalmers, describes a gap between subjective experience (qualia) and physical concepts. From a bio-psychological perspective, this gap arises from two distinct mental functions: elementary sensation, which requires active sense organs and reflects present reality as an open system, and categorizing reflection, which operates without sense organs as a closed system reflecting the past. The transition from specific sense qualia (e.g., the sensory experience of an apple) to neutral thought qualia (e.g., the concept of fruit, food, or calories) through categorization creates a qualia/qualia gap rather than a qualia/concept gap. This explains the hard problem as an interaction between mental functions, compatible with philosophical monism.