Aphantasia

What this episode covers

In this episode, Megan and Frank investigate aphantasia, the inability to generate mental imagery. What can aphantasia tell us about the nature of the mind, in particular, "the hard problem" of consciousness? Should aphantasia be considered a disorder, or merely another variation in human experience? And is it possible to meaningfully talk about our inner experiences, or would that necessarily constitute a kind of private language? Thinkers discussed include: Adam Zeman, Merlin Monzel, Elizabeth Barnes, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Soren Kierkegaard. Hosts' Websites: Megan J Fritts (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/meganjfritts/home?authuser=0] Frank J. Cabrera (google.com) [https://sites.google.com/view/frank-j-cabrera/research?pli=1] Email: [email protected] ----------------------- Bibliography: Some People Can't See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound | The New Yorker [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/03/some-people-cant-see-mental-images-the-consequences-are-profound] Zeman et al. 2015 - Lives without imagery - Congenital aphantasia - PubMed [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26115582/] Zeman et al. 2020 - Aphantasia-The psychological significance of lifelong visual imagery vividness extremes - PubMed [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32446532/] Monzel et al. 2021 - Aphantasia, dysikonesia, anauralia: call for a single term for the lack of mental imagery- [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35314076/] Krempel & Monzel 2024 - Aphantasia and involuntary imagery [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38564857/] Monzel et al. 2023 -Aphantasia within the framework of neurodivergence [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810023001046] The Private Language Argument | Issue 58 | Philosophy Now [https://philosophynow.org/issues/58/The_Private_Language_Argument] Disability: Definitions and Models (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/disability/] The Minority Body: A Theory of Disability | Oxford Academic [https://academic.oup.com/book/8343] ----------------------- Cover Artwork by Logan Fritts ------------------------- Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/neon-signs License code: QHFDPNIRFW3UXOH3