Michael Egnor hosts a captivating conversation with Edward Feser, Aristotelian, prolific blogger, and philosopher of mind. Neurobabble and pop science dismissals of the mind, final causes, abstract thought, and free will each face Feser’s piercing critique.

Show Notes

• 00:41 | Introducing Edward Feser
• 01:00 | Roger Scruton on answers without questions in neuroscience
• 02:20 | A problem with pop neuroscience: ignoring final causes and focusing on material and efficient causes
• 03:48 | How are humans able to reason, use logic, and think abstractly?
• 04:30 | Triangles, symbols and other abstract thoughts
• 05:45 | Concrete objects and finding triangles in the brain
• 07:10 | Is the mind a computation? Can computers think?
• 08:00 | John Searle on computers as artifacts, not natural objects
• 12:15 | Neurobabble and reading philosophy into the neuroscience
• 14:34 | Have Libet’s experiments undermined free will?

Resources

• Edward Feser’s website and blog
• Roger Scruton on neuroscience at The Spectator
• Is the Brain a Digital Computer? by John Searle
• Do Benjamin Libet’s Experiments Show that Free Will Is an Illusion?
• Aristotle’s Revenge: The Metaphysical Foundations of Physical and Biological Science
• Articles by Dr. Egnor at Mind Matters