Is There a Theory of Consciousness?

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We don't have a good theory of consciousness. How do i know that you're conscious like i'm conscious? So and that you're not all a bunch of zombis, and i'm the only one? Here's my super simple solution o this problem. It's the copernican principle, you know, that we're not special. I just apply it to myself. I'm not special. My synapses, er nerons arein wired up the same way yours are. And so on and so on. The chance is that when i see you with tears and a sad face, and i know how that feels, it's reasonable for me to assume you actually are

In this expansive conversation, Michael Shermer speaks with Bernardo Kastrup, the executive director of Essentia Foundation. His work has been leading the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism, the notion that reality is essentially mental. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another Ph.D. in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). Shermer and Kastrup discuss: materialism, idealism, dualism, monism, panpsychism, free will, determinism, consciousness, the problem of other minds, artificial intelligence, out of body and near-death experiences, model dependent realism, and the ultimate nature of reality.