Susan Blackmore - What is it like?

Consciousness is framed as the construct of mental models rather than a property bound to physical entities or brains. Drawing on predictive processing theory, internal mental models are positioned as the defining element of conscious experience - representing a form of internal simulation rather than a direct viewing of an external reality. Mindfulness and psychedelic experiences illustrate the potential for these established models to be attenuated or deconstructed, revealing the illusory nature of a stable, unitary self. By treating the self as one of many constructed mental models, consciousness research can move past the limitations of the hard problem, reframing the question of "what it is like" from a metaphysical puzzle to a study of how brain systems build and update these models.