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The mysterian view of consciousness is one of the most intriguing—and humbling—positions in contemporary philosophy of mind. It doesn’t deny consciousness, nor does it try to reduce it to matter. Instead, it argues that the very nature of consciousness is something the human mind is not equipped to fully understand.
Let me lay it out cleanly and powerfully.
🧠 The Mysterian View of Consciousness
Core claim:
Consciousness is real, fundamental, and undeniable—but human cognitive architecture is simply not capable of explaining how subjective experience arises from physical processes.
This is sometimes called “cognitive closure”:
Humans are closed off from certain kinds of understanding, just as a dog cannot grasp calculus or a fish cannot understand dry land.
🔍 What the Mysterians Argue
1. Consciousness is not an illusion
We directly experience:
- awareness
- qualia
- subjectivity
- the “what it is like” to be
These cannot be dismissed.
2. But the brain–mind link is beyond our conceptual reach
We can map neurons, measure brain states, and model cognition, but the leap from:
brain activity → subjective experience
remains opaque.
3. The limitation is not scientific—it is cognitive
The mysterian view says:
- It’s not that science is failing.
- It’s that the human mind lacks the kind of concepts needed to solve the problem.
Just as you cannot explain color to someone born blind, you cannot explain consciousness using tools evolved for survival, not metaphysics.
🧩 Why This View Matters
It avoids two extremes:
- Materialism: “Consciousness is just the brain.”
- Mysticism: “Consciousness is supernatural.”
Instead, it says:
Consciousness is natural, but not fully knowable by us.
This is a sober, almost agnostic metaphysics.
🌌 The Deeper Implication
The mysterian stance leaves open all the big possibilities you’ve been exploring:
- Consciousness as fundamental
- Consciousness as universal
- Consciousness as a field the brain tunes into
- Consciousness as the ground of being
- Consciousness as the principle behind physical law
It doesn’t affirm them—but it doesn’t rule them out either.
It simply says:
We may never know.
🎯 A crisp BGT-style summary
Consciousness is undeniable yet ultimately inscrutable; the human mind lacks the conceptual tools to grasp how subjective experience arises, leaving the essence of consciousness permanently beyond our cognitive horizon.
If you want, I can map the mysterian view into a diagram, contrast it with panpsychism, or show how it fits into your broader metaphysical framework.
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