3. The Philosophy and Science of Consciousness
Human and Machine Consciousness March 7, 2018 DOI: 10.11647/obp.0107.03 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the hard problems of consciousness are not unique to the field and do not prevent scientific study, as consciousness and the physical world can be measured and mathematically related. |
Abstract
Chapter 3 tackles some of the ‘hard’ problems with consciousness. First, it is impossible to imagine the relationship between consciousness and the invisible physical world. Second, we find it difficult to imagine the connection between conscious experiences of brain activity and other conscious experiences. Third, there are brute regularities between consciousness and the physical world that cannot be broken down or further explained. None of these problems are unique to consciousness research. They can also be found in physics, and they do not affect our ability to study consciousness scientifically. We can measure consciousness, measure the physical world and look for mathematical relationships between these measurements.