Concept
Cartesian theater
Overview
The "Cartesian theater" is a term coined by philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett to critique a persistent flaw in theories of mind, introduced in his 1991 book Consciousness Explained.
It mockingly describes the idea of consciousness as a centralized "stage" in the brain where perceptions are presented to an internal observer. Dennett ties this to Cartesian materialism, which he considers to be the often unacknowledged residue of René Descartes's dualism in modern materialist views. This model implies an infinite regress, as each observer would require another to perceive it, a problem Dennett argues misrepresents how consciousness actually emerges.
The phrase echoes earlier skepticism from Dennett's teacher, Gilbert Ryle, who, in The Concept of Mind (1949), similarly derided Cartesian dualism's depiction of the mind as a "private theater" or "second theater".
Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0; see the article history for authors).
Possible passages
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But this is not the place to treat in detail of this matter. III. That the perceptions of the senses do not teach us what is in reality in things, but what is beneficial of hurtful to the composite whole of mind and body.
René Descartes, Selections from the Principles of Philosophy
States what Cartesian theater is; the author is tied to Cartesian theater in the knowledge graph.
But after the knowledge of God and of the soul has rendered us certain of this rule, we can easily understand that the truth of the thoughts we experience when awake, ought not in the slightest degree to be called in question on account of the illusions of our dreams. For if it happened that an individual, even when asleep, had some very distinct idea, as, for example, if a geometer should discover some new…
René Descartes, Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences
The author is tied to Cartesian theater in the knowledge graph.
Modern philosophy is generally taken as beginning with Descartes, who flourished in the first half of the seventeenth century. We have already had occasion, in Chapter XVI, to consider his argument “I think, therefore, I am”, but now we will deal with him somewhat more generally.
Bertrand Russell, Philosophy
Close in meaning to Cartesian theater; the term itself is not named.
Related ideas
- Gilbert Ryle
- The Concept of Mind
- Consciousness Explained
- Mind–body dualism
- Materialism
- René Descartes
- Pineal gland
- Infinite regress
- Consciousness
- Routledge
- Daniel Dennett
- Homunculus
- Cartesian materialism
Place in the tradition
Part of Consciousness.