A Synthesizing Approach to the Problem of Consciousness: Neurophenomenology
Kaygı Uludağ Üniversitesi Fen-Edebiyat Fakültesi Felsefe Dergisi September 26, 2023 Mehtap Doğan 2 citations
Neurophenomenology offers a middle path between dualist and idealist views that consciousness is scientifically inexplicable and physicalist views that it can be reduced to physical processes. Rooted in embodied cognition and enactive approaches, it uses subjective reports from meditators trained to purify experience, combined with neural imaging, to investigate the continuity between experience and the external world. The goal is to obtain richer first-person data through systematic phenomenological research and use it to generate new third-person data about neural processes. This paper reviews neurophenomenology's philosophical foundations, evaluates its methods and aims, and discusses whether it constitutes a valid solution to the problem of consciousness.