Can materialism explain human consciousness? Not according to an influential argument in the philosophy of mind (the “hard problem of consciousness”). In this talk, I (i) sketch a materialist theory of consciousness, (ii) explain an idealist rejection of the possibility of any such theory, (iii) discuss the philosophical flaws of this rejection, and (iv) explain, in materialist terms, why idealism is nonetheless attractive to many people. I close by pointing out that the “hard problem of consciousness” unconsciously frames subjectivity in terms of a bourgeois owner of private property, and therefore is the hard problem of justifying social inequality in disguise.

35 minutes talk, 40 mins discussion, 10 minutes response.