e that sometime in the future a similar conceptual revolution will take place in the study of consciousness, and we will be able to understand how consciousness is a physical phenomenon. This is the task that the relatively new field of cognitive science is confronted with, and while difficult, reducing consciousness to physical phenomena is not the impossible task Chalmers would have us believe. Stanford UniversityStanford, CANotes 1. The ideal gas law states that the pressure of a mole of gas depends on its temperature and its volume (pV = kT). This is an example which is often used in Chalmers' and other philosophers' writings about supervenience. [BACK UP] 2. One may think that consciousness is intimately tied up with beliefs and desires, and so a being lacking consciousness could not truly be said to have beliefs or desires. In this case, beliefs and desires should be read in a deflationary manner which does not perfectly correlate with our beliefs and desires, but which none the less allows beliefs and desires to fulfill the same causal roles in producing behavior. [BACK UP] 3. M. Davies and G. Humphreys, eds. Consciousness: Psychological and Philosophical Essays. Oxford: Blackwell, 1993. [BACK UP] 4. Although it would be the case that had the first twin's hair color been different, the second twin's hair color would also have been different. [BACK UP]...
