Abstract

By way of critical engagement with naturalist philosophy of mind and Jacques Lacan’s theory of subjectivity, this chapter argues that the mind-body problem, or rather the inner-outer split, is rooted in moral-existential dynamics. The diagnosis of the naturalist mind-body problem suggests that the ‘problem’ itself is a charade, and locates in it an underpinning tension between the inner and expression in the relationship to the other. With the support of Wittgenstein’s considerations on ‘private language’, I go on to suggest that Lacan’s theory ultimately faces the same impasse as the naturalists and consequently hints at the same underlying, constitutive, tension or difficulty. The chapter ends with an attempt to flesh out the moral-existential dynamics identified throughout.