Illusionism and the distortion thesis
Synthese June 12, 2025 Maxim Gorbachev, Keith Frankish
The illusionist theory of consciousness denies that experience has phenomenal properties—the qualities that supposedly make it conscious. Central to this view is the distortion thesis: introspective mechanisms systematically misrepresent neural processes, creating the illusion of phenomenality. This article maps possible patterns of such distortion, proposing a classification scheme based on three dimensions: positiveness, conceptuality, and dispellability. Eight distinct distortion patterns are described, each a hypothesis about how the illusion arises. The authors offer tentative plausibility assessments but do not advocate a specific view, aiming instead to stimulate further theorizing and empirical research on introspective distortion.