ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the Hard Problem of consciousness. It notes that traditional fields of inquiry about the relationship between the brain and the mind have ground to a halt in the face of academic concern that mind is too nebulous a concept, or indeed that neuroscience will prove that there is no such thing. The current debate focuses on how best to define mind or consciousness, but with no plausible resolution in sight. The chapter discusses the work of Thomas Nagel and introduces his idea of ‘bat-ness’ as a cypher for consciousness. It then discusses John Searle’s puzzle of the Chinese Room, his attempt to articulate the notion of qualia, as a way of setting apart those who have consciousness.
