Although the book has been greatly influential, Chalmers maintains that it is "far from perfect", as most of it was written as part of his PhD dissertation after "studying philosophy for only four years".

[4][note 2] Chalmers believes that an adequate theory of consciousness can only come by solving both the hard and easy problems.

Chalmers believes that information[note 10] will invariably play a central role in any theory of consciousness.

Namely, it addresses objections made by the physicist [[Roger �]] regarding the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics: I do not see why a conscious being need be aware of only "one" of the alternatives in a linear superposition.

This leaves the many-world view undoubtedly the most elegant of all interpretations of quantum mechanics (from a mathematical standpoint), albeit a counterintuitive one.

"[22] David Lewis is a proponent of materialism whose views are criticised numerous times throughout The Conscious Mind.

[23] Patricia and Paul Churchland have criticised Chalmers claim that everything but consciousness logically supervenes on the physical, and that such failures of supervenience mean that materialism must be false.

[25] Daniel Dennett has labelled Chalmers a "reactionary", and calls the invocation of philosophical zombies "an embarrassment".

[26] He argues that the mysterious nature of consciousness amounts to nothing more than a cognitive illusion,[26][27] and that philosophers ought to drop "the zombie like a hot potato".