Loading...
The Methodological Puzzle of Phenomenal Consciousness: What it is, and Why it is Still Unsolved
Shen, Qiuyang
Shen, Qiuyang
Abstract
The question of whether cognitive access is a constitutively necessary part of phenomenal consciousness has been the center of the debate of consciousness for several decades. It has been recognized that there exists a methodological puzzle in the study of consciousness (Block, 2006; Phillips, 2018). The puzzle can be roughly described as follows: how can we empirically find out whether certain cognitively inaccessible states are phenomenally conscious or not, when the way we identify conscious mental states is always confounded with cognitive access? This thesis reviews two current approaches to solve the methodological puzzle - one approach appeals to the Inference to the Best Explanation (IBE) and the other proposes to study consciousness as a natural kind. It is argued that both approaches failed, and the methodological puzzle remains unsolved.
Description
Date
2019-04-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Collections
Download Dataset
Rights Holder
Usage License
Embargo
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Citation
Department
Philosophy