Episode 89

The sixth episode in a series wherein Mark Taylor talks with me about the mind-body problem and the so-called "hard problem" of consciousness. We continue discussing Wittgenstein's elliptical remark about talking lions, leading Mark to bring up a recent book about someone attempting to mimic animal behaviour in great detail, which then leads back to Thomas Nagel's seminal article "What Is It Like To be a Bat?". Synesthesia and the various "modalities" of perception come up, as well as wider questions surrounding the whole idea of the "self".

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Some relevant links:

• consciousness
• the "hard problem"
• Ludwig Wittgenstein
• Wittgenstein's "talking lion" remark
• Thomas Nagel
• T. Nagel, "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" (1974 article)
• Charles Foster
• C. Foster, Being a Beast (Profile, 2016)
• animal echolocation
• Mary's Room (Frank Jackson's thought experiment)
• "brain in a jar" thought experiment
• Daniel Dennett
• qualia
• synesthesia
• synesthesia and psychedelics
• the elusive "self"
• digital camera face tracking
• Buddhist meditation
• Allen Ginsberg
• Anne Waldman
• Melibe viridis (possibly the bizarre sea slug shown)