This dissertation engages with a philosophical worry that the qualitative or "phenomenal" dimension of consciousness may not be captured by regular scientific explanation, that is, by the sort of inquiry which can be verified from a third-person vantage. There is a sense in which I agree and disagree that consciousness poses such a problem, so I draw on the semiotic ideas of Charles Sanders Peirce to articulate in what respects I think the worry ought and ought not to be taken seriously. If we can come to see how this introduction's two epigraphs are consistent, then I think we will make progress in philosophy of mind.