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The Spring 2020 Philosophy Colloquium Series presents Tim Bayne (Monash University).
Title: " How to Construct a Consciousness Meter ”
Abstract: One of the central challenges facing the science of consciousness is that of identifying ways of measuring consciousness. Can we go beyond our pre-theoretical ways of detecting consciousness and develop independently validated measures of consciousness. Some theorists think not, arguing that we are necessarily restricted to the pre-theoretical markers of consciousness with which we begin. Other theorists are more optimistic, and hold that we will be able to develop independent measures of consciousness, or "consciousness meters". This talk distinguishes between various kinds of consciousness meters, and then considers whether one proposal for how to construct a consciousness meter—the natural kind strategy—can be reconciled with widely-held commitments in the philosophy of mind.