(cross-posted at Philosophy Sucks!) Well it’s been a while since I have posted anything here…I have been so busy with Consciousness Online (which by the way was a HUGE success!Thanks to all who participated, including our very own Gualtiero! I am also happy to announce that the Journal of Consciousness Studies is allowing me to edit a special issue of the journal devoted to Consciousness Online!!) and my teaching load that I simply haven’t had time to do anything else! Today I am leaving for the apa in Vancouver where I will present The Reverse-Zombie Argument against Dualism which should be fun (basically the first half of my CO presentation) if any Brains folks are there we should get a drink and show up at the business meeting!
Anyways, this last past weekend I presented the above titled work in progress at the Long Island Philosophical Society (held at LaGuardia this term). Below is the narrated powerpoint (sorry about the buzz…I think I need a new mic) and a draft of the paper. The basic idea is that pain and painfulness are only contingently related (as evidenced by the dental fear phenomenon and Pain Asymbolia) and so we can explain awy the seeming contingency of mind/brain identies in exactly the same way as we do in cases like lighting/electrical discharge and heat/mean molecular kinetic energy. Any comments are welcome!