The Problem With Dualism

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"I am left with an air of mysticism about how physical things could cause consciousness," Nagel says. "Maybe there is a class of creatures that can know exactly what this bridge, like what can bridge these two in terms of a scientific theory." But they wouldn't even be able to explain it to us. Right. Like dogs doing calculus, right? Like they have brains and they can know things. They'll just never know what we know.

We try (with varying success) to wrap our heads around Thomas Nagel’s classic article “What is it Like to be a Bat?" Does science have the tools to give us a theory of consciousness or is that project doomed from the outset? Why do reductionist or functionalist explanations seem so unsatisfying? Is the problem that consciousness is subjective, or is it something about the nature of conscious experience itself? Is this ultimately an epistemological or metaphysical question? What are we talking about? Do we even know anymore?

Plus, the return of Mr. Robot! We talk about the big new mystery at the heart of the new season.

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