About this Research Topic

Background

Being conscious of what is happening around us and within ourselves is an essential aspect of human nature. Consciousness not only provides us with a sense of being something beyond ourselves, participating in the events of the world, like an ocean wave crashing against a reef, but also enables us to pay attention to our surroundings. This awareness allows us to interpret the behavior of others and adapt our own actions accordingly. While access consciousness has been amenable to the experimental method, the qualitative side of consciousness has posed more resistance.

Today, the science of consciousness is almost exclusively an empirical science that continues to produce exciting empirical results. However, after approximately fifty years of research dedicated to explaining the qualitative side of consciousness, it is now opportune to assess whether the qualia adventure has been a success or a failure. The question arises: Are we on the path that will also lead us to a science of qualia, or are we going about things the wrong way and wasting our time?

A science of consciousness that is not able to explain what it means to have an experience is like a black-and-white movie: we witness the events of the story while recognizing that the real world is in technicolor. The investigation of the subjective side of consciousness, characterized by sharp debates about qualia, zombies, and the causal closure of the physical world, has increased as a result. We have asked whether the resistance that the qualitative side of consciousness offers to the scientific framework falsifies materialism and physicalism.

The Research Topic "The End of Qualia: Do We Still Need Phenomenology in the Science of Consciousness?" is directed towards scientists who believe it is time to reflect on the Qualia adventure. The scope of the Collection encompasses all papers that delve into a review of fifty years of research dedicated to exploring the qualitative aspects of consciousness. We particularly encourage submissions with innovative and groundbreaking theses which can include both experimental studies and theoretical papers. Experimental contributions are anticipated to demonstrate advancements in explaining what it means to have a subjective experience.

This Collection also addresses anomalies of consciousness, exploring instances where consciousness deviates from the norm. This encompasses real-life cases such as dissociative disorders, schizophrenia, or PTSD, as well as fictional scenarios like philosophical zombies and Hollywood zombies. Even depictions of zombies in popular culture can be seen as an exploration of the human experience, eliciting existential questions about the nature of consciousness, the relationship between oneself and the body, and the concept of personal identity.

The invited contributions for this Research Topic encompass a range of topics, including consciousness, metaphysics of mind, qualia, zombies, materialism, physicalism, phenomenology, anomalies of consciousness, mental causation, and the causal closure of the physical world.

Information for authors: Please be aware that this research topic is cross-listed with multiple journals and sections. When submitting your manuscripts, please ensure that they fall within the scope of the journal and sections to which you are submitting. Should your manuscript fall outside the defined scope of the chosen section or journal, our team will promptly contact you to make the transfer to the corresponding journal /section.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: consciousness research, Qualia, phenomenology, consciousness, metaphysics of mind, cognitive science, anomalies of consciousness.metaphysics of mind, anomalies of consciousness.

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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