Koby Warren's Proseminar Research

The Problem of Consciousness

Ok, so my area of research is in theory of mind. Specifically the problem of consciousness. The question that seems to be plaguing this area of philosophy right now is the divide between dualism and monism. Yes, i know this isn't a new issue. This division has existed for a long time. However, it seems as though the division is at a critical moment in the history of mind theory. This is because dualism seems to be on its last leg in the realm of philosophical discourse. The only viable form of dualism that remains today is property dualism, a position championed by David Chalmers. Leading the opposing team (physical monist) is Daniel Dennett.

Most of my research seemed to be centered on the arguments between these two philosophers. The most heated arguments seem to revolve around whether consciousness can be accounted for reductively (a problem adressed by numerous philosophers, including Nagel, etc). The most fascinating (and controversial) of these arguments is the Chalmers "Zombie Theory." This theory basically states that because zombies lacking qualia can be logically plausible, then consciousness cannot be completely reduced the material explanation. Basically, it challenges modern science to account for experience in their 3rd person reductive methods (a challenge that Chalmers believe is impossible to meet, while Dennett disagrees).

So where is the argument about consciousness at RIGHT NOW... well, all these arguments about supervenience accounted for below are a bit out of date. While they still rest in the background, the problem has shifted more towards the idea of physical realization. That is, the question has now become, how is it that physical systems seem to realize higher level functions such as qualia. This view basically rejects all remaining epiphenomenalism which may have been lingering in the field. This theory thinks of the mind as like a radio. How does something like a radio manage to play music? how does it realize music? That is kind of like what philosophers are looking into now. Or at least, that is the context that they all seem to be arguing that the moment.

Here is an attachment of my annotated bibliography up to this point..... Koby's Annotated Bibliography

also, if anyone happens to have any thoughts on this subject, please feel free to post them here. Kobywarren 23:50, 6 November 2010 (UTC)

What I've Looked Into So Far...

Chalmers, David John. The conscious mind: in search of a fundamental theory. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Print.

This is the book is probably the most influential piece of scholarship for those seeking to keep the possibility of dualism alive in academic study. In this book, Chalmers asserts a view of dualism called property dualism. In doing so, Chalmers’ needs to make the case that consciousness cannot be explained via reductive methods. This means that he must at least refute that consciousness doesn’t supervene on the physical globally (93). In Chalmers’ book, he brings up 4 major arguments for this theory. However, the most important theory for Chalmers is also his most controversial: the zombie theory. Chalmers’ theory of zombies is called a “possible worlds” argument; a philosophical method that seems quite controversial in academia today. His argument can be summed up as follows: If we can logically conceive of a world in which all physical facts hold, but there is no consciousness, then consciousness is not contingent on the physical. Chalmers claims that all this argument needs to do is demonstrate the logically conceivability of this scenario in order to make his point. This book has appeared in numerous articles, especially those focusing on theory of mind. It seems to have kicked up quite a bit of dust especially among those that take a more materialist or naturalist approach to the theory of mind question.

"Supervenience (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)."Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford, n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2010. <http://plato.stanford.edu/ Entri

This is an important article that gives some background on supervenience. According to the article, supervenience is a concept that is used in a wide variety of philosophical discourse. However, what is most relevant to my area of research is what this article says about supervenience as an argument for reduction. This is relevant to me because the big argument of theory of consciousness right now is whether it is accountable via reduction. Hence, supervenience is important in proving/disproving this. According to the article here, in order for something to be explainable reductively, it has to be supervenient on those properties being used to explain it. Now this is where it gets abstract and kind of complicated. Basically, say you want to explain A as being reductively explainable by B. This means that in order for change to occur in A, there must be changes in B. Hence, if changes occur in the qualities which A supervenes on(B) then there must be changes in B. That may not be a completely fair explanation of supervenience given the complexity of the idea, but I believe it should suffice for the purposes of this annotated bibliography. This is relevant to Chalmers because his zombie argument essentially proves that Consciousness is irreducible. This is because the possible world of zombies makes it logically possible for facts about consciousness (A) to change without there being a change in physical facts (B). Hence, consciousness is not supervenient on the physical and therefore is not reducible to the physical. Kobywarren 01:57, 8 November 2010 (UTC)

"Impossible Worlds (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2010. <http:// plato.stanford.edu/entries/impossible-worlds/>.

This article provides a comprehensive understanding of how “possible worlds” work as logical arguments. This method of philosophical argument appears to be a highly controversial one given the numerous affirmative and negative arguments for it. Those arguments relevant to Chalmers’ and Dennett seem to be the arguments about how these worlds work logically. According to the details in this argument, Chalmers’ possible worlds theory works because it allows us to conceive of a world that doesn’t have something. In Chalmers’ case, a world in which there is the same physical attributes, but no consciousness. Because consciousness can be theoretically “removed” from the equation, then it isn’t contingent on the physical. This is relevant to Dennett because he uses the same method to refute Chalmer’s case. Dennett comes up with another possible world in which the opposite of Chalmers’ zombie is true. Thus, there is room in the system for logical contradictions among all possible worlds.

Dennett, Daniel C. "The Unimagined Preposterousness of Zombies." Journal of Consciousness Studies 2.4 (1995): 322-326. Philosopher's Index. EBSCO. Web. 5 Nov. 2010.

“Philosophers ought to have dropped the zombie like a hot potato, but since they persist in their embrace, this gives me a golden opportunity to focus attention on the most seductive error in current thinking.”-quoted from Dennett’s “The Unimagined Preposterousness of Zombies”

Dennett launches what he thinks is a scathing and complete refutation of the Chalmers’ zombie argument for property dualist. As an unapologetic materialist, Dennett believes that those holding on to the zombie argument are just desperately attempting to fend off the inevitable (i.e. The scientific understanding of consciousness). Dennett is interesting in this article because he provides another “possible worlds” argument that allows him to refute the claim that consciousness is something independent from physical contingency. He does this by introducing the “zimbo.” The zimbo is basically the opposite of Chalmers’ zombie. In the world of zimboes, they are beings capable of “second order” beliefs. To Dennett, this scenario provides a counterexample that demonstrates the incoherence of Chalmers’ zombie argument. Basically, by arguing this way, Dennet is pointing to an equally conceivable world. This world contradicts Chalmers’. If both can exist, then one must be false because there is an inherent contradiction. Thus according to Dennett, the zombie argument of the dualist is inherently false.

"Consciousness (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)."Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. <http://plato.stanford.edu/ entries/

This is a comprehensive articles that gives a pretty good general sense of the landscape surrounding discussion of consciousness and the mind/body problem. Specifically relevant to this area of inquiry is what the article says about the “explanatory gap” theory of consciousness. This theory, commonly asserted by Joseph Levine, points out that there is some type of gap in the human ability to understand the relationship between the physical and phenomenal aspects of consciousness. This theory is described as having different levels of “strength.” For example, a weaker explanatory gap claim will just assert that at the present moment, we lack the conceptual scientific framework in order to actually understand and explain consciousness. A stronger level of this position would argue that as humans we will never be able to explain it. Just as an insect cannot grasp mathematics, we cannot grasp those things are fundamentally beyond our capacity to understand, even through science. This article also provides a “yellow pages” of sorts. It gives the names of those philosophers that support each particular view. In addition, it also points out where additional material can be found on each philosopher. For example, one particularly interesting position on the theory of consciousness is Kim’s criticism of those that attempt to account for consciousness using both non-reductive and physicalist methods.

NAGEL, THOMAS. "WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A BAT?." Philosophical Review 83. (1974): 435-450.Philosopher's Index. EBSCO. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.

Nagel provides an interesting account of consciousness. In this article, he essentially asserts an anti-reductionist view of consciousness. He does so by framing the problem of consciousness in a thought experiment. The question posed by this experiment is the question posed in the title of the article: What Is It Like to be a Bat? Nagel points out that there is a fundamental subjectivity to our way of perceiving the world. This subjectivity is informed by the phenomenological way in which we view the world. He introduced the bat problem in order to demonstrate the exclusive nature of this subjectivity. Because we will never be able to understand the echo-locating way of experiencing the world, we will never be able to account for the bats consciousness on the level of true understanding. This perspective provides a fascinating view of the mind/body problem as well. For Nagel, it would almost seem as if there is in fact a dual reality. There is the reality of the subjective experience, and the reality of the outside world. The world that the subject perceives by his/her own phenomenological means.

Levin, Janet. "Consciousness Disputed." British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 48.1 (1997): 91-107. Philosopher's Index. EBSCO. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.

This article is a review of Chalmers’, The Conscious Mind. It does an excellent job of recounting Chalmers’ theory of logical supervenience of the consciousness. Levin points out that for Chalmers’ a reductive explanation of consciousness is impossible due to the supervenience of consciousness of the physical. Basically, he believes that consciousness is above or on top of the physical or psychological aspects of the mind. An idea that he believes is not at odds with a naturalistic account of the world. Levin also does an excellent job calling Chalmers’ conclusions into question. Especially the counterintuitive nature of his proofs, including his arguments about zombies. However, Levin offers no theory of her own. She just raises questions about Chalmers.

Yablo, Stephen. "Concepts and Consciousness." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 59.2 (1999): 455-463. Philosopher's Index. EBSCO. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.

Yablo reviews Chalmers’, Consciousness Explained, and in doing so, provides a much more critical take on it that Levin’s review. Yablo begins the review by pointing out how well written and likable the book is. However, he regrettably turns to what he finds as the fundamental flaws of the book which make it ultimately unbelievable. The flaw which he refer to is the fact that Chalmers’ entire theory rests on the assertion that zombies are conceivable. It is Yablo’s assertion that conceivability evidence is fallible (456). Yablo points out that the conceivability argument cannot be confused for an argument of possibility. It would seems as if Yablo is accusing Chalmers of using the term possibility as a pun. This wouldn’t be the first time that I have seen a philosopher accuse Chalmers of this.

Webster, W R. "Human Zombies Are Metaphysically Impossible." Synthese: An International Journal for Epistemology, Methodology and Philosophy of Science 151.2 (2006): 297-310. Philosopher's Index. EBSCO. Web. 31 Oct. 2010.

This article is a critical response to Chalmers’, The Conscious Mind. First off, Webster does an excellent job reconstructing Chalmers’ argument for zombies. Such a good job in fact, that it is worth placing here for reference:

• In our world, there are conscious experiences.
• There is a logically possible world physically identical to ours, in which the positive facts consciousness in our world do not hold.
• Therefore, the facts about consciousness are further facts about our world, over and above the physical facts.
• So, materialism is false.

Now, while there may be some aspects of this reconstruction that fail to fairly deal with Chalmers’ view, it is still a good synopsis none the less. He does a good job at representing Chalmers’ view that consciousness is essentially an extra fact about the physical world (298).

Kobywarren 00:00, 7 November 2010 (UTC)