

Keith Frankish on consciousness as an illusion | Living Mirrors #87
Consciousness Is Not a Private World but a Complex Interaction with Reality
Keith Frankish challenges the traditional view that consciousness is a private, metaphysical realm distinct from the brain and the physical world. Instead, he argues that consciousness is a set of complex sensitivities and reactive dispositions that arise from our interaction with the world, observable in the brain's processes.
He explains that what we call "conscious experience"—like seeing the color yellow or feeling pain—is not a separate essence but a way we describe and monitor intricate patterns of reactions in ourselves. This interpretation avoids the need to posit a Cartesian theatre or a private mental world and instead situates consciousness firmly in the natural physical reality.
Frankish illustrates this by imagining two anesthetic scenarios: one that removes all pain reactions but leaves the essence of pain, and another that leaves reactions but removes the essence. His argument favors the idea that pain and consciousness are the complex pattern of reactions, not a separate essence. This view dissolves the "hard problem" of consciousness into an understanding of brain-world interaction without metaphysical illusions.
Consciousness as a Private Inner World
- Consciousness is often viewed as a private inner world that is radically distinct from the physical brain.
- This view creates the "hard problem" of explaining how physical processes produce private experiences.
Consciousness as Interaction, Not Substance
- Keith Frankish argues consciousness exists but the metaphysical picture of a private mental realm is flawed.
- Consciousness is better understood as interaction, sensitivity, and response to the world, not an extra mental substance.