The Illusionist view of consciousness

We present you a course of lectures by Keith Frankish, one of the leading theorists of illusionism. In 6 lectures, Frankish explains what it means to assert that consciousness is an illusion, why we should deny qualia, and what a plausible illusionist theory of mind looks like. The course was organized by the Moscow Center for Consciousness Studies. It took place at the Faculty of Philosophy of Lomonosov Moscow State University in 2020.

Keith Frankish is a PhD at the University of Sheffield in the UK and an associate professor at the University of Crete, author of the book “Illusionism as a Theory of Consciousness”. Illusionism as a philosophical position denies the objectivity of any phenomenon, studying our perceptions as something that creates the illusion of reality. Frankish develops the concept of illusionism in relation to consciousness.

Content of lectures:

1. The first lecture contains an introduction to the problem of phenomenal consciousness and an illusionist answer to it. 
2. The second lecture discusses the grounds for denying the realistic view of phenomenal consciousness.
3. The third lecture provides arguments in favor of the position of illusionism and justifies why this position is better than the position of realism. 
4. The fourth lecture presents a number of objections to the position of illusionism and offers answers to these objections. 
5. The fifth lecture examines the features of various possible illusionist theories of consciousness and identifies a number of issues that have not yet been sufficiently developed.
6. The sixth lecture is devoted to the consequences arising from illusionism. The problems of animal consciousness, artificial intelligence, and ethical issues are discussed. Frankish is trying to figure out whether the illusionist position changes how we should treat ourselves and others, and also why a difficult problem of consciousness turns into a pseudo-problem.