Introduction

This chapter focuses on the traditional mind-body problem, with thick emphasis on the topic of "phenomenal consciousness" or qualia. If consciousness is a function or activity of the brain, if the brain "secretes" consciousness, then the way that it carries out this function differs drastically from the way other organs carry out their functions. The whole point of the "explanatory gap" between consciousness and the brain is that it seems completely mysterious why a certain sort of brain activity should feelone way, rather than some other way, or like nothing at all. Perhaps, with the advance of the brain sciences, the relation between psychology and neuroscience will be best described as sitting about halfway between pure reduction and pure elimination. In other words, an ideally mature cognitive science or neuroscience might allow us to keep some of our familiar categories for mental states but in a somewhat altered form.