3. The Philosophy and Science of Consciousness
Human and Machine Consciousness March 7, 2018 Peer reviewed DOI: 10.11647/obp.0107.03
Summary
The chapter addresses significant challenges in understanding consciousness, including the difficulty of relating conscious experiences to brain activity and the physical world. It highlights that there are fundamental connections between consciousness and the physical realm that resist further explanation. However, these issues are not exclusive to consciousness studies and do not hinder scientific inquiry into consciousness, as measurements can be taken and mathematical relationships explored.
Study at a glance
| Key finding | Challenges in understanding consciousness do not impede scientific study, as measurements can be made and analyzed. |
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Abstract
Chapter 3 tackles some of the ‘hard’ problems with consciousness. First, it is impossible to imagine the relationship between consciousness and the invisible physical world. Second, we find it difficult to imagine the connection between conscious experiences of brain activity and other conscious experiences. Third, there are brute regularities between consciousness and the physical world that cannot be broken down or further explained. None of these problems are unique to consciousness research. They can also be found in physics, and they do not affect our ability to study consciousness scientifically. We can measure consciousness, measure the physical world and look for mathematical relationships between these measurements.