TagReductionism
Consciousness, Materialism, and the Limits of Reductionism
On this episode, host Pat Flynn concludes a three-part conversation with Dr. Selmer Bringsjord about all things related to AI, consciousness, and rationality. In Part 3, Flynn and Bringsjord summarize their points about integrated information theory and an alternative view, cognitive consciousness. The discussion explores the challenges of explaining consciousness from a materialist or physicalist perspective, noting the apparent qualitative Read More ›
“Nothing But… ” Is Now Creating a Crisis in Science
When science writers (and scientists) start using words like “miraculously,” it’s a clue that they are really stumpedIn a recent article in Quanta, science writer Natalie Wolchover discusses a little-advertised fact, that the much ballyhooed Large Hadron Collider supports the idea that our universe is fine-tuned — by an intelligence beyond nature? — and that there are many efforts afoot to reinterpret the findings so as to make the problem go away: The crisis became undeniable in 2016, when, despite a major upgrade, the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva still hadn’t conjured up any of the new elementary particles that theorists had been expecting for decades. The swarm of additional particles would have solved a major puzzle about an already known one, the famed Higgs boson. The hierarchy problem, as the puzzle is called, asks why the Read More ›
Why Some Think Emergence Is Replacing Materialism in Science
Materialism, in the form of reductionism, posits a world without novelty — but that is not the world we live inMany of us might need a pause to recall just what the word “reductionism” means. But we surely recognize it when we hear it: “Humans are nothing but big-brained apes,” “The mind is just what the brain does,” or “The Earth is a mere speck in a not-very-interesting galaxy.” That, materialists tell us, is What Science Shows. But is it? Really? In an article at BigThink, University of Rochester astrophysicist Adam Frank (pictured) argues that reductionism is — for good reasons — fading in science: “Reductionism offers a narrow view of the universe that fails to explain reality.” It is slowly being replaced: Reductionism is the view that everything true about the world can be explained by atoms and their Read More ›
How Have Various Thinkers Tried To Solve the Mind–Body Problem?
Philosopher Angus Menuge explains why traditional physicalism (the mind is just what the brain does) doesn’t really workIn last week’s podcast, Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviewed Concordia University philosopher Angus Menuge on one of philosophy’s biggest headscratchers, the mind–body problem. In the second part, they looked at a big question, if the mind and body are so different, how can they interact? We know we are not just bodies, and a number of models of the relationship are offered. Menuge offers a look at some of them: https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-133-Angus-Menuge.mp3 This portion begins at 15:50 min. A partial transcript, Show Notes, and Additional Resources follow. Some philosophers don’t think the mind–body problem is as big a challenge as it is made out to be. Angus Menuge (pictured): Well, there are some like Richard Swinburne, who is Read More ›
Why the Brain Can’t Be Understood Simply in Terms of Particles
For the same reasons as a basketball cannot be understood wholly as a “sphere,” the brain is more than particle physics in action
Devs Both Grips and Challenges Hulu Viewers
I had fully expected Devs to be yet another series about sentient AI but it is something fresherAlex Garland departs from conventional sci-fi themes to create a thought-provoking film, packed with action and based on a challenging underlying philosophy.
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