Biological Naturalism and the Mind-Body Problem

This book offers a new theoretical framework within which to understand "e;the mind-body problem"e;. The crux of this problem is phenomenal experience, which Thomas Nagel famously described as "e;what it is like"e; to be a certain living creature. David Chalmers refers to the problem of "e;what-it-is-like"e; as "e;the hard problem"e; of consciousness and claims that this problem is so "e;hard"e; that investigators have either just ignored the issue completely, investigated a similar (but distinct) problem, or claimed that there is literally nothing to investigate - that phenomenal experience is illusory. This book contends that phenomenal experience is both very real and very important. Two specific "e;biological naturalist"e; views are considered in depth. One of these two views, in particular, seems to be free from problems; adopting something along the lines of this view might finally allow us to make sense of the mind-body problem.An essential read for anyone who believes that nosatisfactory solution to "e;the mind-body problem"e; has yet been discovered.