If the Internet is one of the basic cognitive resources we bring to bear on the everyday world, the websites we spend the most time on must be playing a proportionally large role in our everyday cognitive functions. So does Facebook constitute a cognitive system in its own right?
What Is It Like to Be Ourselves? A Debate on Consciousness and the Mind
Although we spend most of our lives in a state of consciousness, as soon as we subject it to more careful scrutiny we realize that we know very little about it—how does it actually happen? And how does conscious experience fit into our scientific picture of the world?
Apoplectic About Outsourcing Apps
When the Partially Examined Life discussion of human enhancement (Episode 91) turned to the topic of digital technology, the philosophical oxygen was sucked out of the room. Sure, folks conceded that philosopher of mind Andy Clark (not mentioned by name, but implicitly referenced) has interesting things to say about how technology upgrades our cognitive abilities and extends the boundaries of Continue Reading …
Scrutability: The PPT
If you don’t know what the acronym “PPT” means, consider yourself lucky that you have avoided a work or social context where doing presentations is required. If you are like me, the power of those three letters to inspire dread is almost unparalleled. The phrase ‘Can you put together some slides…’ evokes panic, fear and nausea made worse only Continue Reading …
PREVIEW-Episode 68: David Chalmers Interview on the Scrutability of the World
On David Chalmers’s book Constructing the World (2012). How are all the various truths about the world related to each other? David Chalmers, famous for advocating a scientifically respectable form of brain-consciousness dualism, advocates a framework of scrutability: if one knew some set of base truths, then the rest would be knowable from them.
Episode 68: David Chalmers Interview on the Scrutability of the World (Citizens Only)
On David Chalmers’s book Constructing the World (2012). How are all the various truths about the world related to each other? David Chalmers, famous for advocating a scientifically respectable form of brain-consciousness dualism, advocates a framework of scrutability: if one knew some set of base truths, then the rest would be knowable from them. Learn more.
End song: “What You Want” by New People, from Might Get It Right (2013). Download the album.
Not School Digest Nov-Dec 2012: A Bonus Quasisode
Excerpts of discussions about David Chalmers’s The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory, Thomas Nagel’s Mind and Cosmos, and Paul Auster’s City of Glass.
Topic for #68: Interviewing David Chalmers on Conceptual Analysis and Metaphysics
On 12/4 we spoke with David Chalmers about his new book, Constructing the World. Listen to the episode. The book explores a series of related positions that attempt to generalize and improve upon Carnap’s project of logical construction in the Aufbau, the subject of our episode 67 (which will be posted soon). Carnap’s project was problematic mainly because first, it Continue Reading …
Not School Philosophy of Mind Group: David Chalmers
On The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory (1997). Featuring Mark Linsenmayer, Alan Cook, Evan Gould, Russ Baker, Steve Lindsay, and Marilyn Lawrence. Recorded 11/17/12.
He argues for a form of property dualism in which consciousness, or more likely something like “proto-consciousness” is best conceived as a fundamental feature of the world.
PREVIEW-Episode 21: What Is the Mind? (Turing, et al)
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? What is it like to be a bat? With guest Marco Wise.
Mind Video #1: David Chalmers
We just recorded our discussion of the philosophy of mind last Sunday, though it’ll be a while before it gets all mixed and edited and posted. The discussion was very wide-ranging and covered a number of colorful personalities in not very much detail at all, so I’m going to post a series of videos to introduce you to these folks. Continue Reading …
David Chalmers on “Merely Verbal” Disputes
A talk by philosopher David Chalmers presenting a general framework to determine whether a dispute is “merely verbal.”