Philosophers now largely reject reductionism to microphysics in favor of functional explanations for the special sciences, but a closer look at scientific practice shows that the actual explanatory strategy is mechanistic: appealing to active material entities organized to produce target phenomena. The authors argue that phenomenal consciousness will also be explained mechanistically, as the activity of specific neural mechanisms in the brain. This perspective implies that consciousness has a complex structural essence, which the chapter explores.
A critique of Dienes and Perner's theory of explicit and implicit knowledge finds that while the theory aims to organize research in cognitive psychology, it relies heavily on the Higher-Order Thought theory of consciousness, which undermines its plausibility and usefulness. The authors agree with the general strategy but argue that a consensus on the distinction remains distant.