Introspection of Functions
Overview
When we examine our own mental lives, we mostly have access to functional aspects: patterns of behaviour, introspective reports, cognitive judgments, etc. There is no direct first-person access to "non-functional" qualia. Therefore, positing non-functional qualia may be a conceptual illusion – the functional description suffices. Only functional states enter into causal relations that drive behavior and cognition.
Responses
Further reading
- Dennett D (1993). Consciousness Explained