Intuition-Driven Navigation of the Hard Problem of Consciousness

The debate about consciousness is stuck, with the "hard problem" at its center and opposing realist and eliminativist camps unable to agree. Recent attempts to move the debate by focusing on "intuitions" have used the term loosely. This paper argues that the ontological and epistemological status of intuitions limits arguments that rely on them. The authors propose a way forward by studying a specific, "positive" kind of intuition, adopting elements of the methodological "Canberra Plan" in an approach they call "The Canberrish Plan for Consciousness."

Study at a glance

Abstract

The discussion of the nature of consciousness seems to have stalled, with the “hard problem of consciousness” in its center, well-defined camps of realists and eliminativists at two opposing poles, and little to none room for agreement between. Recent attempts to move this debate forward by shifting them to a meta-level have heavily relied on the notion of “intuition”, understood in a rather liberal way. Against this backdrop, the goal of this paper is twofold. First, we want to highlight how the ontological and epistemological status of intuitions restricts the arguments in the debate on consciousness that rely on them. Second, we want to demonstrate how the deadlock in those debates could be resolved through a study of a particular, “positive” kind of intuitions. We call this approach “The Canberrish Plan for Consciousness” as it adopts elements of the methodological “Canberra Plan”.