Prakāśa. A few reflections on the Advaitic understanding of consciousness as presence and its relevance for philosophy of mind
Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences August 14, 2020 Wolfgang Fasching 11 citations
Consciousness, according to Advaita Vedānta, is not itself an object of introspection but is the pure manifestation (prakāśa) that makes all contents of consciousness known. This paper argues that contemporary philosophy of mind, by treating consciousness as a special kind of object (qualia), makes the anti-materialist claim vulnerable to the materialist reply that the difference between mental and physical is merely epistemological. The paper contends that this materialist move leads to circularity or infinite regress regarding the nature of givenness or manifestation itself.