The Hard Problem Of Consciousness

The enigma of consciousness has avoided the reach of science since the the time of Aristotle over 2300 years ago. This problem has become so notorious over the centuries that scientists have come to simply call it “the hard problem of consciousness.” As defined by Professor of Philosophy, David Chalmers (1995), this “hard problem” is experience. It is what it is like to be alive, to feel a soft blanket, or to eat a crisp apple. All of these events deliver sensory input to the brain, which then, somehow, creates an experience separate from the initial input. Science, under today’s definition, can only address phenomena that can be objectively measured, but because all experiences of consciousness are solely subjective occurrences, science is

As stated by the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, there are some defining traits of consciousness, the first of which is that of qualia. Qualia are the “raw feels” of an experience, that is, the experience of something beyond just seeing or feeling an object (2014). When you see a painting, for example, one experience much more than just the colors and their placement. One could feel happy or sad, or recognize symbolism, technique or history, all of which go far beyond the brain sensing color. Consciousness is made up of these qualia that aren’t defined by physical

The brain has an ability to filter the raw data and choose to formally recognize only certain bits of information-- the brain can only focus on certain information at a single time. The Attention Schema Theory also involves the trait of the brain, and consciousness, to be able to construct models of our physical surroundings. When the brain chooses to focus on one object at the cost of recognizing all the other objects, it creates an “attention schema”, and under the Attention Schema Theory, consciousness is an attention schema of one’s own attention (Graziano,