Here’s a guy that Wes brought up to me as being a somewhat extreme case in terms of anti-scientism. Whereas Churchland approaches the problem of consciousness from a scientific perspective, Colin McGinn (who must be in the witness protection program based on how darkly this is filmed) is a proclaimed “mysterian,” saying that consciousness just can’t be understood:
There are a few things I find strange here, like the way he talks about different kinds of reduction here (his distinction doesn’t match those I’m familiar with, though I think I understand what he’s saying) and his purpose in saying that “the physical world” includes entities unknowable by physics. However, I agree his overall point that sciences always tend to have mysteries at their center: they don’t explain the intrinsic nature of the entities involved, just the observable relations between them.
McGinn has a blog here, and his most recent book is apparently called Mindfucking.
[…] expect most have you have seen this article or some other about the renown philosopher Colin McGinn and his recent resignation from the University of Miami. The story has been covered and discussed […]