Yvette Balata
2676719
Group 19
Tutor: Atul Suri
SSA Week 7. (Lectures 13 & 14)
a. What is the ‘hard problem of consciousness’ and what does this problem have to
do with functionalism?
The hard problem of consciousness refers to the debate on whether it is possible to explain the per-
sonal and subjective experience of phenomenal consciousness. That is, it tries to investigate how a
given physical process or stimulus input generates an experience of qualia (Howell, 2009). Accor-
ding to Chalmers, a functionalist approach is not fit to explain phenomenal experiences as it attemp-
ts to define them in terms of their causal roles and physical properties. However, this is simply not
possible as a functionalist approach would only give us information regarding how a certain mental
state is caused and what this causes in turn. Yet, it would not offer an explanation of what this men-
tal state subjectively feels and particular, why it feels that way at all (Slors, De Bruin & Strijbos,
2015).
b. Explain the difference between access consciousness and phenomenal consciousness
Access consciousness refers to a state of awareness that is “directly accessible to us” (Slors, De
Bruin & Strijbos, 2015, p. 65). What defines this type of consciousness is its level of availability.
That is, access-conscious states can be readily described with words, used for reasoning and the
2676719
Group 19
Tutor: Atul Suri
SSA Week 7. (Lectures 13 & 14)
a. What is the ‘hard problem of consciousness’ and what does this problem have to
do with functionalism?
The hard problem of consciousness refers to the debate on whether it is possible to explain the per-
sonal and subjective experience of phenomenal consciousness. That is, it tries to investigate how a
given physical process or stimulus input generates an experience of qualia (Howell, 2009). Accor-
ding to Chalmers, a functionalist approach is not fit to explain phenomenal experiences as it attemp-
ts to define them in terms of their causal roles and physical properties. However, this is simply not
possible as a functionalist approach would only give us information regarding how a certain mental
state is caused and what this causes in turn. Yet, it would not offer an explanation of what this men-
tal state subjectively feels and particular, why it feels that way at all (Slors, De Bruin & Strijbos,
2015).
b. Explain the difference between access consciousness and phenomenal consciousness
Access consciousness refers to a state of awareness that is “directly accessible to us” (Slors, De
Bruin & Strijbos, 2015, p. 65). What defines this type of consciousness is its level of availability.
That is, access-conscious states can be readily described with words, used for reasoning and the
