Cartesian theater

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’ 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."