Philosophy
As you can probably tell from the majority of my blog entries, I love science, but even science with all its evidence, experiments and equipment can't compare with the kinds of questions that philosophy investigates and seeks to answer. Here is a taste: Can you be conscious, but not have a sense of self? Do you have a self? What kind of thing is it? If you do have one, what is the you that has this self? Does it persist through time? Can you lose it? And if you lose it, what is the you that has lost it? Are you identical with or different from your self? Are you a unity or a conglomeration of multiple identities? Why do you even think there is a 'you'? Where does that feeling come from, and why? And what exactly are you? Are you your soul, your brain, your body, your consciousness? How do you know?
In this last episode of the excellent and ethereal Brainspotting series, Ken Campbell discusses these and related questions, as well as some of their weird implications, with eminent authorities in the fields of philosophy of mind and consciousness such as Derek Parfit, Marvin Minsky and John Searle, as well as neuroscientist Susan Greenfield (who, in my opinion, doesn't quite get the grip of the philosophical question). In any case, you're about to disappear :)
- Déjà Vu ? Meaning
What is the meaning of déjà vu? Is déjà vu real and is there any scientific explanation of déjà vu phenomenon? Some people argue that the feeling of déjà vu has a spiritual meaning, others call it just a dream. The best way to define déjà vu...
- Philosophy: Brain In A Vat Argument ? Truth Revealed
Brains in a vat? That sounds terrifying, doesn?t it? Brain in a vat argument is one of the newest thought experiments in philosophy of mind (discussed by John Pollock). Many people raise objection to the brain in a vat theory but are there in fact any...
- John Searle - Our Shared Condition: Consciousness
Studying consciousness is notoriously difficult, and until only the last couple of decades, very few intellectuals (apart from philosophers and psychologists) dared to even think about how to try to understand it. But with the rise of new disciplines...
- Philosophers Are No Longer Allowed At Summer Camp
When it comes to the question of the metaphysics of diachronic personal identity (the question of whether you are the same person at different times), philosophers, such as John Locke, David Hume, Derek Parfit, David Lewis and others, have come up with...
- Visions Of The Future: The Quantum Revolution
There seems to be a natural progression from complete bewilderment to understanding to the need to manipulate and find practical applications for the scientific discoveries we make. Sometimes there is also the stage of speculation whereby we take our...
Philosophy
Brainspotting - Part 3
As you can probably tell from the majority of my blog entries, I love science, but even science with all its evidence, experiments and equipment can't compare with the kinds of questions that philosophy investigates and seeks to answer. Here is a taste: Can you be conscious, but not have a sense of self? Do you have a self? What kind of thing is it? If you do have one, what is the you that has this self? Does it persist through time? Can you lose it? And if you lose it, what is the you that has lost it? Are you identical with or different from your self? Are you a unity or a conglomeration of multiple identities? Why do you even think there is a 'you'? Where does that feeling come from, and why? And what exactly are you? Are you your soul, your brain, your body, your consciousness? How do you know?
In this last episode of the excellent and ethereal Brainspotting series, Ken Campbell discusses these and related questions, as well as some of their weird implications, with eminent authorities in the fields of philosophy of mind and consciousness such as Derek Parfit, Marvin Minsky and John Searle, as well as neuroscientist Susan Greenfield (who, in my opinion, doesn't quite get the grip of the philosophical question). In any case, you're about to disappear :)
If you don't buy the idea that you, a 'normal' person, can be divided into multiple selves, just think about what happens when you confront a moral dilemma.
.
- Déjà Vu ? Meaning
What is the meaning of déjà vu? Is déjà vu real and is there any scientific explanation of déjà vu phenomenon? Some people argue that the feeling of déjà vu has a spiritual meaning, others call it just a dream. The best way to define déjà vu...
- Philosophy: Brain In A Vat Argument ? Truth Revealed
Brains in a vat? That sounds terrifying, doesn?t it? Brain in a vat argument is one of the newest thought experiments in philosophy of mind (discussed by John Pollock). Many people raise objection to the brain in a vat theory but are there in fact any...
- John Searle - Our Shared Condition: Consciousness
Studying consciousness is notoriously difficult, and until only the last couple of decades, very few intellectuals (apart from philosophers and psychologists) dared to even think about how to try to understand it. But with the rise of new disciplines...
- Philosophers Are No Longer Allowed At Summer Camp
When it comes to the question of the metaphysics of diachronic personal identity (the question of whether you are the same person at different times), philosophers, such as John Locke, David Hume, Derek Parfit, David Lewis and others, have come up with...
- Visions Of The Future: The Quantum Revolution
There seems to be a natural progression from complete bewilderment to understanding to the need to manipulate and find practical applications for the scientific discoveries we make. Sometimes there is also the stage of speculation whereby we take our...