Consciousness regained? Philosophical arguments for and against reductive physicalism.
Thomas Sturm
Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience March 1, 2012 DOI: 10.31887/dcns.2012.14.1/tsturm (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 | Conceivability argument Consciousness Explanatory gap Knowledge argument Multiple realization Qualia Reductionism |
| Key points | Argues that influential skeptical arguments against reductive physicalist explanations of qualia are not very convincing, but that ongoing reflection is needed to avoid dogmatism. |
Abstract
This paper is an overview of recent discussions concerning the mind-body problem, which is being addressed at the interface between philosophy and neuroscience. It focuses on phenomenal features of consciousness or "qualia," which are distinguished from various related issues. Then follows a discussion of various influential skeptical arguments that question the possibility of reductive explanations of qualia in physicalist terms: knowledge arguments, conceivability arguments, the argument of multiple realizability, and the explanatory gap argument. None of the arguments is found to be very convincing. It does not necessarily follow that reductive physicalism is the only option, but it is defensible. However, constant conceptual and methodological reflection is required, alongside ongoing research, to keep such a view free from dogmatism and naivety.
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Citations in the library
Cited by 8
- Normal Alert Consciousness: A Central Executive Model of Hippocampal Function IntechOpen eBooks July 19, 2023
- What is consciousness and what it is for. An introduction to extended information theory. Frontiers in Psychology 2025
- The nature of mind scale (NOMS): Validation of an eight-dimensional scale assessing beliefs about the relationship between mind and matter. Consciousness and Cognition 2026
- Perspectivas del estudio de la consciencia: aproximación desde las ciencias de la complejidad y la biología evolutiva Entreciencias diálogos en la Sociedad del Conocimiento March 4, 2024
- Prigoginian informational dissipation (PID) as the cause of the emergence of a proto-self Biosyst. August 23, 2025
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Cites 7
- On a confusion about a function of consciousness Behavioral and Brain Sciences June 1, 1995
- Neural Correlates of Consciousness The MIT Press eBooks August 28, 2000
- Consciousness cannot be separated from function. Trends in Cognitive Sciences August 1, 2011
- Kant and the scientific study of consciousness. History of the Human Sciences 2010
- The role of the NMDA synapse in general anesthesia. Toxicology Letters November 23, 1998
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