PHI 2010 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Color Vision, Qualia, Epiphenomenalism
Document Summary
Dualism: minds (nonphysical) and bodies (physical) are different substances; therefore, my mind and body are distinct: materialism/physicalism: like bodies, minds are physical; therefore, i am a physical being, dualism(s) Property dualism: emergence: arguments for dualism. Argument from irreducibility/capacities: arguments against dualism. Consciousness- subjective character of experience (nagel page 169) Related terms: experience, feeling, sensation, subjectivity, qualia. Intelligence- the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills: (oxford dictionary) Problem of consciousness: the problem of subjectivity. Science cannot explain consciousness, because science is about objective facts, and consciousness is purely subjective. The best we can do is extrapolate, e. g. , bat sonar and human vision. My realism about the subjective domain in all its forms implies a belief in the existence of facts beyond the reach of human concepts (page 171) There is a gap between our physical descriptions of the world and our actual experiences. Complete physical knowledge is not sufficient for complete knowledge of consciousness.
