The Mystery of the Mystery of Consciousness
Routledge eBooks July 20, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9781315104706-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 21 |
| Key points | Argues that the mystery of consciousness is one aspect of a general problem, reconciling the qualitatively rich manifest image with the qualitatively bereft scientific image. Beyond the mental/physical and qualities/powers bifurcations, the author identifies neuroscientists' description of brain states as the "substrate" of consciousness as an additional impediment to understanding consciousness and reconciling the two images. |
Abstract
Consciousness is a familiar and beloved feature of our lives. One way to locate the mystery of consciousness is to recognize it as one aspect of a more general problem, the problem of reconciling our everyday experience of the universe with the &s;scientific image&s;, the picture of the universe we obtain from the sciences, especially fundamental physics. Consciousness and the manifest image are said to be qualitatively rich, but the physical universe as depicted in the scientific image is thought to be qualitatively bereft. Although the bifurcation of the mental and the physical and the related bifurcation of qualities and powers are perhaps the most prominent sources of the mystery of consciousness, the author mentions one more impediment to a sensible understanding of consciousness and a reconciliation of the manifest and scientific images. Neuroscientists describe brain states as the &s;substrate&s; of consciousness.