Philosophy of the Mind

Paper Summary:

This paper makes a case for consciousness as the seat of the soul through an analysis of works by David J. Chalmers and Stephen Knapp. The paper looks at how Chalmers approaches the concept of consciousness from the assumption that it is a non-physical phenomenon that cannot be proved by physical means and how he spends a large amount of time refuting arguments by materialists in order to prove this point. In comparison, the paper then examines how Knapp takes this a step further and uses the non-physical nature of consciousness and the difficulty of pinning it down for study in order to make his points regarding the nature and location of the soul.

From the Paper:

"In his paper, "Consciousness and its Place in Nature" (2002), Chalmers explicates the problem of studying consciousness in terms of two types of problems: the "easy" and the "hard" (Chalmers, p. 2). The former refers to the "mechanical" functions of consciousness, such as discriminating stimuli, reporting information, and controlling behavior. These functions, being fairly homogeneous among individual persons, do not pose a problem for being explained in terms of neuroscience, according to the author. Indeed, in Knapp's terms, they might as well be performed by very complex machines or robots. The three functions are based upon the human capacity to learn and internalize external stimuli, which then translates into the manifestation of certain functions. These are "easy" problems of consciousness in terms of philosophy."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chalmers, David J. (2002). Consciousness and its Place in Nature. Research School of Social Sciences: Australian National University. http://consc.net/papers/nature.pdf
• Knapp, Stephen. (no date available). Consciousness: The Symptom of the Soul. How it interacts with but is separate from the body. http://www.stephen-knapp.com/consciousness_the_symptom_of_the_soul.htm

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