Reconsidering the ignorabimus: du Bois-Reymond and the hard problem of consciousness.
Science in context March 1, 2020 DOI: 10.1017/S0269889720000095 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Consciousness Materialism Mysterianism |
| Citations | 9 |
| Key points | Argues that du Bois-Reymond's thesis on the impossibility of a scientific explanation of consciousness is grounded in an epistemological argument and metaphysical skepticism, and that reconsidering this position benefits contemporary consciousness research. |
Abstract
In this paper I present an interpretation of du Bois-Reymond's thesis on the impossibility of a scientific explanation of consciousness and of its present importance. I reconsider du Bois-Reymond's speech "On the limits of natural science" (1872) in the context of nineteenth-century German philosophy and neurophysiology, pointing out connections and analogies with contemporary arguments on the "hard problem of consciousness." Du Bois-Reymond's position turns out to be grounded on an epistemological argument and characterized by a metaphysical skepticism, motivated by the unfruitful speculative tendency of contemporary German philosophy and natural science. In the final sections, I show how contemporary research can benefit from a reconsideration of this position and its context of emergence, which is a good vantage point to trace open problems in consciousness studies back to their historical development.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on philosophy of mind, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosis as a state of aberrant salience: a framework linking biology, phenomenology, and pharmacology in schizophrenia. | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From dopamine to salience to psychosis--linking biology, pharmacology and phenomenology of psychosis. | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How do the brain's time and space mediate consciousness and its different dimensions? Temporo-spatial theory of consciousness (TTC). | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The phenomenology of deep brain stimulation-induced changes in OCD: an enactive affordance-based model. | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 3
- Plant cognition after Darwin: historical and epistemological remarks History & Philosophy of the Life Sciences June 24, 2026
- The hard problem of consciousness as a crisis of rationalist metaphysics according to Lev Shestov Studies in East European Thought June 23, 2026
- Coupling first-person cognitive research with neurophilosophy and enactivism: An outline of arguments Adaptive Behavior July 19, 2024
Cites 4
- On a confusion about a function of consciousness Behavioral and Brain Sciences June 1, 1995
- Consciousness science: real progress and lingering misconceptions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences November 1, 2014
- Dualism revisited. Journal of physiology, Paris 2007
- Naturalizing consciousness: a theoretical framework. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences April 17, 2003