%0 Journal Article
%T [An Evaluation on Five Main Approaches Towards the Nature of Consciousness]
%A Mehtap DO£¿AN
%J -
%D 2018
%X Abstract: This study has three pre-claims: 1) Every experience has an experiencer (phenomenal subject). 2) Experiencer (phenomenal subject) is a substantially ontological entity. 3) Without understanding phenomenal subject, it is not possible to comprehend neither experience not the nature of phenomenal consciousness. These three axioms mean that any of the theories on consciousness could be successful to explain the nature of consciousness without explaining phenomenal subject. In this essay, five approaches on consciousness will be critically examined by relying on mentioned three axioms: Idealist monism, materialist monism, dualism, panpsychism, agnosticism. Idealist monism claims that all entities are mental. This approach gives an opportunity to the existence of phenomenal subject as an owner of subjective experience. However, it is not easy to advocate idealism because of our basic knowledge concerning material world. Materialist monism could be classified as reductive materialism, non-reductive materialism and eliminative materialism. According to reductive materialism, all mental properties could be reduced to physical; therefore, consciousness as a mental property could be reduced to physical and it is not necessary to talk about the existence of phenomenal subject. Non-reductive materialism, unlikely reductive materialism, supports the idea that mental properties cannot be reduced to physical. This approach has a possibility to identify subjective experience but it is also insufficient to explain phenomenal subject. Eliminative materialism totally rejects the idea of mental properties; hence, it does not provide us to discuss about consciousness and experience by depending on the idea that they are just folk- psychological concepts and they should be eliminated from the scientific research of mind. Dualism claims that there are two distinct entities or properties in the universe: physical and mental. Although this theory is compatible with the idea of phenomenal subject, it is problematic in terms of its failure of physical-mental interaction. Panpsychism supports the idea that everything in the universe has a mind or mentality in some degree. This theory implies that everything in the universe have a potential to be a subject. However, this approach causes to subject-summing problem and it does not explain subjectivity. As a last theory, agnosticism expresses that it is not principally possible to know the nature of consciousness. Thus, it is not to wrong to say that agnosticism does not provide us to explain phenomenal consciousness
%K bilin£¿
%K deneyim
%K fenomenal £¿zne
%K idealizm
%K materyalizm
%K d¨¹alizm
%K panpsi£¿izm
%K agnostik gizemcilik
%U http://dergipark.org.tr/metazihin/issue/38128/439972