The why of consciousness: A non-issue for materialists

Author: Hardcastle V.G.

Source: Journal of Consciousness Studies, Volume 3, Number 1, 1996 , pp. 7-13(7)

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Abstract:

In this essay, I hope to make clearer what the points of division between the materialists and the sceptics are. I argue that the rifts are quite deep and turn on basic differences in understanding the scientific enterprise. In section I, I outline the disagreements between David Chalmers and me, arguing that consciousness is not a brute fact about the world. In section II, I point out the fundamental difference between the materialists and the sceptics, suggesting that this difference is not something that further discussion or argumentation can overcome. In the final section, I outline one view of scientific explanation and conclude that the source of conflict really turns on a difference in the rules each side has adopted in playing the game.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: Department of Philosophy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0126, USA. Email: valerie@vt.edu

Publication date: 1996-01-01