The Structure of Experience (Consciousness & Reality Colloquium 2023-24 Series)

Many researchers hold that studying the structure of experiences is the best, if not the sole, method to investigate consciousness. Structural facts are ones that are true of all experiences, for example, that all perceptual experiences represent space and time, and that all experiences of red are more similar to experiences of blue than of green. I will present counterexamples to extant structural claims and argue that once we appreciate the limited sensory imagination capacity of humans and grasp the full range of possible experiences, we ought to conclude that determining the structure of experience is unfeasible. If this is correct, then what is now thought to be a major avenue of consciousness research is, in fact, inaccessible to us.ABOUT THE EVENT This lecture will be accessible to an interdisciplinary audience. Caltech, Stanford, MIT and IMICS members from all divisions are welcome to join. Select questions from the Q&A window will be answered after the lecture.ABOUT THE SERIES The Consciousness & Reality colloquium series promotes interdisciplinary investigations on mind, cognition, consciousness, and the nature of reality.