What is the relationship between the mind and body - or rather what is the relationship between mental properties and physical properties? What is consciousness, where does it reside? In this paper I will try to answer these questions among several others. I will present the problems of consciousness, starting the discussion with the mind body problem and mental causation, then proceed with the hard problem after providing a definition of phenomenal consciousness. Explicating physicalism's allure, I will continue with discussing the common commitment all physicalist theories are bound by and argue that it is misguided. Claiming physicalism can solve neither the mind-body nor the hard problem, I will defend that panpsychism depicts a coherent and unified picture of reality and solves the aforementioned problems.

My philosophy journey started and continued thanks to Prof. Van Gulick. I have never seen or heard lectures that are as enthralling and fascinating as his, he is an outstanding professor and an admirable scholar. I am proud to have been his student and forever grateful to him for all of his efforts and support.

Links to Project Materials:

Additional support provided by: Honors Funding

College of Visual & Performing Arts 2020, Humanities Projects 2020, 2020