#158 Could Consciousness Be an Illusion?

Within Reason

Jun 18, 2026•2 hr 7 min

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Episode description

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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?