Discussing articles by Alan Turing, Gilbert Ryle, Thomas Nagel, John Searle, and Dan Dennett. Plus a new intro by Mark, Wes, and Seth reflecting back on this 2010 discussion, which we're re-releasing to help you prepare for our upcoming episodes in this area. What is this mind stuff, and how can it "be" the brain? Can computers think? No? What if they're really sexified? Continue Reading …
Not School April: Dennett and Germans and Aristotle
Hey there, lovers of philosophy, here's with a breakdown of our current Not School offerings for April: Two common objections we get from folks considering the Not School program are “This level of instruction probably costs $6, maybe $7 dollars a month—and that rent is too damned high”...and second “If Not School doesn’t help me wrap my head around the idea that various Continue Reading …
Not School This March: Hobbes, Nietzsche, Dennett, Plato, Hegel
There's quite the smorgasbord for Uber-Mensches (and Uber-Mensch-ladies) this March for folks considering a Not School experience. Sign up and come on into the Citizens' Forum for proposals, and check out the already-established Not School groups. #leviathan #topical #besticandowithcreativecommonsphotos You want Thomas Hobbes? You get Thomas Hobbes. Keegan Venzomeran Continue Reading …
More Fun Debating Free Will (and Bashing Dan Dennett)
Pop science journalists / authors Bob Wright and John Horgan have an interesting debate on free will from a, well, pop science point of view. Nothing gets resolved, as always, but I like hearing well-informed middle-aged guys argue the same debate we've been hearing since the university dorm room. Highlights include Wright's assessment of Daniel Dennett's Freedom Continue Reading …
Notes on Dennett’s “Breaking the Spell,” Part 1
For our atheism episode (which has, incidentally been pushed back to be recorded in late May or possibly June... sorry, Russ!), I'm trying to read through the most popular of the "new atheist" books, and I'm sure we'll only end up discussing some select portions of the books in any detail, so as I'm going through these, I'm going to generate a few blog posts to fill readers in Continue Reading …
Episode 21: What Is the Mind? (Turing, et al) (Citizens Only)
Discussing articles by Alan Turing, Gilbert Ryle, Thomas Nagel, John Searle, and Dan Dennett. What is this mind stuff, and how can it "be" the brain? Can computers think? No? What if they're really sexified? Then can they think? Can the mind be a computer? Can it be a room with a guy in it that doesn't speak Chinese? Can science completely understand it? ...The mind, that Continue Reading …
PREVIEW-Episode 21: What Is the Mind? (Turing, et al)
This is a 31-minute preview of a 2 hr, 20-minute episode. Buy Now Purchase this episode for $2.99. Or become a PEL Citizen for $5 a month, and get access to this and all other paywalled episodes, including 68 back catalogue episodes; exclusive Part 2's for episodes published after September, 2020; and our after-show Nightcap, where the guys respond to listener email and chat Continue Reading …