The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

We focus on the final chapters of Dan Dennett's Consciousness Explained, where he confronts various views, figures, and thought experiments that contend that he's failed to explain the essence of consciousness: the "what it's like" element of any conscious experience that is distinct from a mere judgment or processing of information. One could imagine a being that organizationally matches Dennett's multiple drafts model, acts just like an intelligent person, and yet lacks consciousness. Dennett denies this.

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Jacqui rose to fame with the Australian electronic dance band Single Gun Theory (three albums '87-'94), did some one-off collaborations, and released her first solo album in 2008. After an album as CiiVE and some solo singles, she's now released her second solo album, Desiderium.

We discuss "Planet" and listen at the end to "Cycles" from that new album, plus "Myriad" from Auraphonic (2008), and "The Sea of Core Experience" by Single Gun Theory from Flow, River of My Soul (1994). Intro: "Take Me Back" by Single Gun Theory from Millions, Like Stars in My Hands, The Daggers in My Heart Wage War (1991). More at jacquihunt.net.

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We wrap up Mary's first year with the podcast, and changes are afoot for our upcoming season, but why? Let's explore to the point of physical discomfort! We act out an odd annual employee review, a dramatic pitch for a new play, and the navel-gazing club.

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Continuing on Consciousness Explained (Ch. 5, 12). We talk about appearance vs. judgment and whether Dennett's denial of this distinction makes sense or just holds for very short time-scales, as in the phi-phenomenon experiment. Does the rejection of appearances and rejection of the concept of qualia undermine the very thing Dennett is trying to describe?

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On "First Person Authority" (1984). What warrants our superior knowledge of our own mental states, as oppose to those of others? Why is this not obvious?

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