Home/Library/The Feeling of What HappensPhilosophy of MindThe Feeling of What Happensby Antonio DamasiointermediateDamasio's groundbreaking work on how the body and emotions are inseparable from consciousness and the sense of self.PrintSome links are affiliate links. Purchases help support the channel at no extra cost to you.Episodes featuring this bookMetaphysics2:50:00Your Brain Should Not Be ConsciousThe Hard Problem of ConsciousnessSomething is happening right now that no science can fully explain. There is an experience accompanying every moment of awareness, a felt quality to seeing color, hearing sound, and simply existing. This is the problem of consciousness, and it has haunted philosophy for centuries. This episode traces the question from its roots in Descartes and Leibniz through the landmark arguments of Thomas Nagel and David Chalmers, who gave the mystery its modern name: the hard problem of consciousness. Along the way, we examine the major positions: materialists like Daniel Dennett argue the problem will dissolve once we understand the brain well enough, panpsychists like Philip Goff propose that consciousness is woven into the fabric of reality itself, neuroscientists like Giulio Tononi attempt to measure it mathematically, and the question of whether artificial intelligence could ever be conscious forces us to confront just how little we understand about what consciousness is and where it begins.March 24, 2026Back to Library
Metaphysics2:50:00Your Brain Should Not Be ConsciousThe Hard Problem of ConsciousnessSomething is happening right now that no science can fully explain. There is an experience accompanying every moment of awareness, a felt quality to seeing color, hearing sound, and simply existing. This is the problem of consciousness, and it has haunted philosophy for centuries. This episode traces the question from its roots in Descartes and Leibniz through the landmark arguments of Thomas Nagel and David Chalmers, who gave the mystery its modern name: the hard problem of consciousness. Along the way, we examine the major positions: materialists like Daniel Dennett argue the problem will dissolve once we understand the brain well enough, panpsychists like Philip Goff propose that consciousness is woven into the fabric of reality itself, neuroscientists like Giulio Tononi attempt to measure it mathematically, and the question of whether artificial intelligence could ever be conscious forces us to confront just how little we understand about what consciousness is and where it begins.March 24, 2026
