In online discussions on the hard problem of consciousness, I have on many occasions seen people object to the alleged intractability of the hard problem by drawing a comparison with vitalism. They point out that vitalism, much like the hard problem, posed a challenge to physicalism by arguing that physicalism was incapable of fully explaining …
Tag Archives: Physicalism
On Epiphenomenalism
Physicalist philosophers, recognizing that the existence of consciousness poses a threat to their worldview, have been trying recently to come up with theories that can explain the existence of consciousness within a physicalist framework, which usually involves turning consciousness into a completely pointless addition to the universe. They dismiss it as a mere illusion or …
Under the Spell of Words 