What is the “Hard Problem” of Consciousness?

Thoughts on one of the most contentious problems in philosophy of mind today

The classic anime Ghost in the Shell’s title comes from philosopher Gilbert Ryle’s critique of cartesian dualism — the idea that the mind and body are separable entities.

A couple of months back I finished a book by Daniel Dennett written in 1991 titled Consciousness Explained that sped me down a multi-month rabbit hole where I tried to learn as much about anything consciousness-related as I could. I poured over the latest in…