Integral Words: A Philosophy Podcast

In this episode we discuss Thomas Nagel’s classic article “What is it like to be a bat?” in order to delve further into the question of reducing or naturalizing conscious experience by objective physical explanation. Nagel, like Chalmers, argues that phenomenality cannot adequately be accounted for by physical theory, though he remains open (at this point in his career, at least) to the possibility of an ‘objective phenomenology’ which might take care of the issue. Joshua and Jameson agree that Nagel makes a strong fundamental point, though they question his optimism about the prospects that physicalism might successfully reduce consciousness. Moreover, the notion of an objectivity which fully transcends the ‘human point of view’ is called into question. Jameson suggests that what Nagel really needs is not an ‘objective phenomenology’ which satisfies the criteria of a ‘view from nowhere’ but a transcendental phenomenology which might actually fulfill the task of accounting for the ‘objective’ structures at play in the conscious mind.

In layman’s terms: Nagel asks, isn’t there something unique and somehow beyond description in seeing a beautiful sunset, tasting a sour lemon, or feeling bored with playing Monopoly? Explaining the motion of the sun vis à vis the earth, the chemical reactions of taste, and the rules of the game does not capture those experiences—in principle! We need to recognize the apparently intractable problem of grasping that unique ‘what it’s like’ inherent to conscious experience and fundamental to mind.

And, in case there were any doubt, the ‘bat’ in question is the mammal not the bludgeon!

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Building on the last episode, we dive deeper into intentionality with the help of The Phenomenological Mind by Dan Zahavi and Shaun Gallagher, and Joshua provides some insight from David Chalmer’s The Conscious Mind. There are three important issues which arise for the question of intentionality: (1) what is the relation of consciousness or phenomenality to intentionality, (2) to what extent can intentionality be naturalized or explained reductively by non-conscious or non-intentional causal mechanisms, and (3) how is the intentional mind related to reality or the world?

Chalmers’ distinction between the hard and easy problems of consciousness has been influential and clearly has some merit, yet the phenomenological approach to the issue resists separating consciousness from intentionality. The latter approach insists that the ‘first person viewpoint’ is not only a matter of ‘what it is like’ to experience something, but that the very intentional openness to various kinds of objectivities in the world (whether real, imagined, fictional, impossible, or ideal) is essential to mind and experience.

Despite some unexpected distractions (that’s right, three distinct kinds of milks in the grocery delivery), we made some progress on the first two questions. We will be tracing these issues out further as we go!

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://integralwordspodcast.substack.com

In this episode we introduce one significant feature of consciousness: intentionality. We begin by clarifying what this term means in the philosophy of mind. Following this, we discuss Franz Brentano, the philosopher who brought intentionality to the forefront of discussions about the mind. We conclude by briefly exploring one of the traditions that Brentano’s ideas greatly influenced, namely, phenomenology.

If you’re interested in learning more about Franz Brentano, we encourage you to visit the following link:

https://iep.utm.edu/brentano/

If you’d like to learn more about the concept of intentionality, please visit the following link:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/intentionality/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://integralwordspodcast.substack.com

Welcome to the pilot episode of the brand-new philosophy podcast Integral Words! Jameson and I (Joshua) will be your guides as we discuss topics related to consciousness, thought, the soul, the existence of God, and artificial intelligence.

In our first episode we thought it prudent to introduce ourselves and explain the meaning of our show’s name. We hope you’ll stick around for the next installment where we begin exploring one significant feature of consciousness: intentionality.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit https://integralwordspodcast.substack.com