Philosophy of Mind Seminar (Monday - Week 9, TT24)

Abstract: I distinguish two concepts of phenomenal consciousness, which I call subjectivity (=def what makes an entity feel some way at all) and phenomenal character (=def the way it feels to be an entity). If you think of consciousness as analogous to an inner light, then subjectivity is the inner light itself and phenomenal character is the illuminated room (including the light). I argue that this is a theory-neutral distinction that arises across every theory of consciousness. But I also argue that the distinction questions about what a theory of consciousness ought to explain, whether consciousness comes in degrees, whether consciousness is multidimensional, the difference between global states and local states of consciousness, whether there are unconscious qualities, and the notion of “empty consciousness.”

Philosophy of Mind Seminar convenors: Mike Martin, Matthew Parrott, Will Davies and Anil Gomes