| Chalmers, D.J. Conscious Experience 1995 [html] |
| It is widely accepted that conscious experience has a physical basis. That is, the properties of experience (phenomenal properties, or qualia) systematically depend on physical properties according to some lawful relation. There are two key questions about this relation. The first concerns the strength of the laws: are they logically or metaphysically necessary, so that consciousness is nothing "over and above" the underlying physical process, or are they merely contingent laws like the law of gravity? This question about the strength of the psychophysical link is the basis for debates over physicalism and property dualism. The second question concerns the shape of the laws: precisely how do phenomenal properties depend on physical properties? What sort of physical properties enter into the laws' antecedents, for instance; consequently, what sort of physical systems can give rise to conscious experience? It is this second question that I address in this paper. |
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| Chalmers, D.J. Neural Correlates of Consciousness: Empirical and Conceptual Questions 2000 [html] |
| The search for neural correlates of consciousness (or NCCs) is arguably the cornerstone in the recent resurgence of the science of consciousness. The search poses many difficult empirical problems, but it seems to be tractable in principle, and some ingenious studies in recent years have led to considerable progress. A number of proposals have been put forward concerning the nature and location of neural correlates of consciousness. A few of these include: |
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| Chalmers, D.J. On the Search for the Neural Correlate of Consciousnes Toward a Science of Consciousness II 1998 [html] |
| I'm going to talk about one aspect of the role that neuroscience plays in the search for a theory of consciousness. Whether or not neuroscience can solve all the problems of consciousness singlehandedly, there is no question that it has a major role to play. We've seen at this conference that there's a vast amount of progress in neurobiological research, and that much of it is clearly bearing on the problems of consciousness. But the conceptual foundations of this sort of research are only beginning to be laid. So I will look at some of the things that are going on from a philosopher's perspective and will see if there's anything helpful to say about these foundations. |
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