explanatory gap Flashcards
what is the explanatory gap?
mental states cannot be explained in neuro-biological claims because
- not analyzable in functional terms
- experiences cannot be fully explained
what remains to be explained: consciousness
The claim that even if we have all physical information about our brains/bodies, we cannot
explain at least some mental states (consciousness).
What do defenders of the explanatory gap think is unexplainable, and why?
experience. what it is like. would mary learn something new?
Phenomenal consciousness, or the specific quality of / what its-like to be in some physical state. Most
arguments appeal to the fact that causal, structural, and functional states are always logically compatible
with—that is, do not entail—conscious states. In other words, we can’t capture phenomenal states in
strictly functional or structural terms.
