My Biases

I make no pretence at being intellectually pure and unbiased when it comes to the concept of consciousness. Given how intimately significant consciousness is to human existence and self-definition, I would be suspicious of anyone who did claim such a totally objective position. So here are my main biases (there are probably others I have not yet identified):

• Consciousness exists. It is real (in some sense) and not just an illusion or a high level description of purely physical states.

• Qualia exist. This is really part of a belief in consciousness itself - the two go together.

• Free will exists. That is, consciousness is not impotent. By implication this means the universe is not fully deterministic and consciousness is not purely epiphenomenal.

These biases are based on over fifty years of observations. They may be wrong and I would be willing to change them, however in the absence of compelling evidence to the contrary these are my default positions.