Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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brain-activity-stockpack-adobe-stock
Brain activity

Philip Goff’s “Why” and Inflated Success

We are still nowhere closer to arriving at a science of consciousness
There’s little of substance favoring this new theory of consciousness. We still need something like a god piloting the universe.  Read More ›
unstable-atom-nucleus-with-electrons-spinning-around-it-technology-background-stockpack-adobe-stock
Unstable Atom nucleus with electrons spinning around it technology background

Reflections on “Are Atoms Conscious?” and Philip Goff

Can we admit consciousness without giving into theism?
Goff claims the principle of parsimony is on his side, but what he gives us is minuscule in comparison to theism. Read More ›
isaac newton and the apple
Law of Universal Gravitation education funny concept. Isaac Newton under an apple tree

Blinded by a Defunct Theory

The "interaction problem" is everywhere we look in physics, but the dogma of materialism remains

Materialism. What a weird word. It sounds like a ghost, materializing in front of me. And it is sort of like a ghost, one that has mysteriously taken over the minds of many intelligent people. Because they believe in materialism, these smart people don’t believe in ghosts. Especially the ghost in the machine. The problem is there is no way for the ghost to interact with the machine. This is known as the “mind-body interaction problem”.  The great thing about materialism is at least that theory doesn’t have an interaction problem. Any material thing can interact with any other material thing. Yet there is a deep irony. Let’s explore the idea of materialism to see why. Materialism is the idea that reality only consists of matter. Read More ›