Classification of approaches to the problem of consciousness: dualistic theories

Abstract

The "consciousness and brain" problem has been at the forefront of philosophical and scientific inquiry for over half a century. The level of complexity and inexhaustibility of the problem field itself has led to a multitude of positions and concepts that have emerged during this time. Obviously, it is not possible to cover all existing theories of consciousness. In this case, a productive solution seems to lie in constructing a "classification tree," which allows, firstly, to clarify the conceptual differences between the created theories. Secondly, to conduct preliminary generalizations of a number of sufficiently similar ideas expressed from different fields of knowledge. In this regard, the article presents an analysis of possible approaches to classifying theories of consciousness, with a brief overview of the theories themselves. It is also shown that, despite the elegance of the proposed solutions to the "consciousness-brain" problem, none of them leads us out of the conceptual dead ends.