For folks that just wanted to hear Pat talk a bit more about her book, focusing on the bits she wants to focus on rather than what we pushed her toward, here are a few video selections: In this video from her publisher's web site, she gives a short monologue summarizing Braintrust. In this one, she's interviewed by Roger Bingham of The Science Network. Watch on Continue Reading …
Neurobiology and Criminal Justice
At about 30 minutes into the most recent episode with Pat Churchland, the discussion touched on how the neurochemistry of people who are well socialized differs from those who aren't. More specifically, there was a point made about how people who are well socialized and have the Humean (as we will soon discover, actually Smithian) moral sentiment have different brains than Continue Reading …
Secular News Daily Responds to Our Churchland Episode
I see Ken Perrot of the Secular News Daily has cogitated on our Churchland episode and raised some follow-up questions. Read the article here. To respond to one of his points: 1: Is consciousness over-rated? Pat Churchland devoted little of her discussion to the unconscious, or subconscious, aspects of human morality. The conscious aspects are important to understanding Continue Reading …
“Softballs” on the Churchland Episode
Faraone, a commenter on our Facebook page, says: The Churchland episode was disappointing. You had a controversial academic who has made some bold and dubious claims during her career, and you spent your time tossing softballs to-and-fro. If you could not think-up challenging questions on your own, you could have read the many reviews of her book. Instead, it appeared that you Continue Reading …