Facing up to the hard question of consciousness.
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences September 19, 2018 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0342 (opens in new tab) via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe so-called hard problem of consciousness is a distraction from the more important question: once content reaches consciousness, what happens next? This question is rarely asked, but pursuing it could dissolve the hard problem and lead to a scientifically sound theory of how the brain produces the convictions that sometimes mislead us. The article argues that focusing on the consequences of conscious content opens new research avenues.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Chalmers Access Block Consciousness Degrees of freedom |
| Key finding | Argues that the hard problem of consciousness is a chimera and that the proper focus should be on the 'hard question' of what happens after conscious content arises. |
Abstract
The so-called hard problem of consciousness is a chimera, a distraction from the hard question of consciousness, which is once some content reaches consciousness, 'then what happens?'. This question is seldom properly asked, for reasons good and bad, but when asked it opens up avenues of research that promise to dissolve the hard problem and secure a scientifically sound theory of how the human brain produces the (sometimes illusory) convictions that mislead us.This article is part of the theme issue 'Perceptual consciousness and cognitive access'.