Physicalism vs. Dualism: Can Consciousness Be Fully Explained by Physical Science?
Communications in Humanities Research November 5, 2025 Hanwen Zhu
Neither physicalism nor dualism fully explains consciousness. Physicalism, supported by neuroscientific evidence, ties consciousness to brain processes, but faces the hard problem of explaining subjective experience. Dualism preserves the irreducibility of qualia but struggles with mind-body interaction and causal closure. Alternative frameworks like panpsychism and illusionism introduce new challenges. A comprehensive resolution may require a radical reconsideration of both the physical and the mental, similar to paradigm shifts in quantum theory.