Qualia (Part 4): A Bit More on Qualia Plus Philosophy in Mass Media

On The Very Idea - A Philosophy Podcast

In this final episode of a four part series, I finish my discussion on qualia with a mention of British philosopher CD Broad and a discussion about whether our minds have the cognitive capacity to understand the structure of themselves. Can our minds understand our minds? Do we have the cognitive chops to understand how the mental and the physical interact? Shifting gears a bit, I explore how the role of the mass media shapes the mainstream understanding of philosophy in the little coverage that philosophy receives in print. I explore how this issue applies in particular to common understandings of developments in the philosophy of mind. I also throw in a little story about the use of chickens and ammonia as torture in Thai prisons if only because sometimes I like to ramble.