#158 Could Consciousness Be an Illusion?

2026-06-18

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Get all sides of every story and be better informed at https://ground.news/AlexOC - subscribe for 40% off unlimited access. For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com. Keith Frankish is a British philosopher specialising in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, and philosophy of cognitive science. Read Keith's essay, "Illusionism as a theory of consciousness" (2016).Find Keith's website here.Keith Frankish and Philip Goff co-host a...

Get all sides of every story and be better informed at https://ground.news/AlexOC - subscribe for 40% off unlimited access.

For early, ad-free access to videos, and to support the channel, subscribe to my Substack: https://www.alexoconnor.com.

Keith Frankish is a British philosopher specialising in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, and philosophy of cognitive science.

Read Keith's essay, "Illusionism as a theory of consciousness" (2016).

Find Keith's website here.

Keith Frankish and Philip Goff co-host a channel 'Mind Chat', where they debate panpsychism versus illusionism, and explore cutting-edge thought on consciousness: / @mindchat

TIMESTAMPS:

(0:00) Is Consciousness An Illusion?

(4:02) Do We Have a Private World?

(10:00) The Nature of Visual Experience

(20:13) Is Awareness Behavioural?

(28:17) Isn’t Introspection Itself a Private Experience?

(33:04) Philosophical Zombies

(43:05) What Motivates Illusionism?

(50:02) Psychedelics and the Dissolution of the Self

(59:23) Why Are Philosophers Always Categorising?

(1:10:31) Does Alex’s Triangle Exist?

(1:21:40) Is Pain Just a Reaction to Stimulus?