Structuralism in the Science Of Consciousness – Editorial Introduction

Conscious experiences have many structural features. In recent years, structural questions about consciousness have received increased attention from both philosophers and scientists. Yet while it is uncontroversial that conscious experiences are structured, there has been little consensus on how to think systematically about these structures and the roles they play in investigating and explaining consciousness. ‘Structuralism’, in the most general sense, may be defined as an approach to consciousness research where the central aim is to investigate the structures of conscious experiences. Given this broad definition, there are many varieties of structuralism. For example, methodological structuralists think that scientific methods give us knowledge only about structural features of consciousness, while ontic structuralists think that all there is to consciousness is structure. But even those who deny those claims might still think that the proper aim of the science of consciousness is to investigate structure. The aim of this special volume is to bring these dispersed discussions together by organizing a collection of articles about the structures of conscious experiences and the roles that structure ought to play in consciousness research. The goal is to set a foundation and an agenda for a structuralist research program in the science of consciousness.