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Not strictly related to the article, but I’ve yet to be convinced that most of the talk around this supposed “hard problem” is anything more than an attempt to

Not strictly related to the article, but I’ve yet to be convinced that most of the talk around this supposed “hard problem” is anything more than an attempt to reintroduce Cartesian dualism in more scientific sounding terms. “Quantum consciousness” and whatnot.

nahuel0x 5y ago
but Cartesian dualism (an the notion of souls) has its roots in the very real subjective experience. You feel, how do you probe others feels too? The hard problem is real.
- mabub24 5y ago
  A lot of philosophical work has been done explicitly against Cartesian Dualism. Wittgenstein's, extremely influential, "Philosophical Investigations" is probably the biggest example. The entire book is dedicated to dissolving the problem posed by dualism, and presents a conceptual approach that makes the "hard" problem of consciousness, or the problem of understanding someones feelings, effectively not really a problem at all. Much of the problem is more a result of conceptual confusion than anything else. The [Private Language Argument](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/private-language https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/private-language) is probably the most famous. Its result can also be extended to pain, feelings, and vision. Fundamentally private subjectivity is largely a misconception. It's like trying to use a currency that has no purchasing power. Insistence on subjectivity and subjective experience is more productively understood as "personal" rather than as "private".
benlivengood 5y ago
The hard part of consciousness is drawing the line left by the dissolution of Cartesian dualism. Some matter is not conscious, other matter is. How finely can we draw the boundaries between the two? Dualism drew a metaphysical line between matter and spirit but we have to draw a manifold around and through a physical brain to locate conscious experience.

nahuel0x 5y ago

but Cartesian dualism (an the notion of souls) has its roots in the very real subjective experience. You feel, how do you probe others feels too? The hard problem is real.

mabub24 5y ago
A lot of philosophical work has been done explicitly against Cartesian Dualism. Wittgenstein's, extremely influential, "Philosophical Investigations" is probably the biggest example. The entire book is dedicated to dissolving the problem posed by dualism, and presents a conceptual approach that makes the "hard" problem of consciousness, or the problem of understanding someones feelings, effectively not really a problem at all. Much of the problem is more a result of conceptual confusion than anything else. The [Private Language Argument](https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/private-language https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/private-language) is probably the most famous. Its result can also be extended to pain, feelings, and vision. Fundamentally private subjectivity is largely a misconception. It's like trying to use a currency that has no purchasing power. Insistence on subjectivity and subjective experience is more productively understood as "personal" rather than as "private".

benlivengood 5y ago

The hard part of consciousness is drawing the line left by the dissolution of Cartesian dualism. Some matter is not conscious, other matter is. How finely can we draw the boundaries between the two? Dualism drew a metaphysical line between matter and spirit but we have to draw a manifold around and through a physical brain to locate conscious experience.