1 the Many-Worlds Theory of Consciousness Christian List* Abstract: This Paper Sketches a New and Somewhat Heterodox Metaphysica
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From Physics to Physicalism
FROM PHYSICS TO PHYSICALISM a version of this paper is published in Physicalism and its Discontents ed, Gillett and Loewer Cambridge University Press 2001 Introduction Hilary Putnam explains that: The appeal of materialism lies precisely in this, in its claim to be natural metaphysics within the bounds of science. That a doctrine which promises to gratify our ambition (to know the noumenal) and our caution (not to be unscientific) should have great appeal is hardly something to be wondered at. (Putnam (1983), p.210) Materialism says that all facts, in particular all mental facts, obtain in virtue of the spatio- temporal distribution, and properties, of matter. It was, as Putnam says, “metaphysics within the bounds of science”, but only so long as science was thought to say that the world is made out of matter.1 In this century physicists have learned that there is more in the world than matter and, in any case, matter isn’t quite what it seemed to be. For this reason many philosophers who think that metaphysics should be informed by science advocate physicalism in place of materialism. Physicalism claims that all facts obtain in virtue of the distribution of the fundamental entities and properties –whatever they turn out to be- of completed fundamental physics. Later I will discuss a more precise formulation. But not all contemporary philosophers embrace physicalism. Some- and though a minority not a small or un-influential one- think that physicalism is rather the metaphysics for an unjustified scientism; i.e. it is scientistic metaphysics. Those among them that think that physicalism can be clearly formulated think that it characterizes a cold, colorless, unfeeling and uninteresting world and not, they think, the world we live in. -
Dialectic at a Moving Standstill: the Neurotic Midadventures Of
Macalester Journal of Philosophy Volume 13 Article 6 Issue 1 Spring 2004 5-1-2004 Dialectic at a Moving Standstill: The eurN otic Midadventures of Philosphy of Mind Dan Ganin Macalester College Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/philo Recommended Citation Ganin, Dan (2004) "Dialectic at a Moving Standstill: The eN urotic Midadventures of Philosphy of Mind," Macalester Journal of Philosophy: Vol. 13: Iss. 1, Article 6. Available at: http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/philo/vol13/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Philosophy Department at DigitalCommons@Macalester College. It has been accepted for inclusion in Macalester Journal of Philosophy by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Macalester College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dialectic at a Moving Standstill: The Neurotic Misadventures of Philosophy of Mind Dan Ganin Introduction Relatively recently, numerous philosophers of mind have espoused the epistemic intractability and impenetrability of both the mind-body problem and the problem of consciousness. While past and present attempts to theoretically resolve and circumvent these metaphysical questions have assumed many forms and postulated numerous conceptual paradigms (substance dualism, property dualism, eliminative materi alism, functionalism, mind- body identity theory, logical behaviorism, idealism, etc.), the fundamental problem of epistemic inexplicability has not substantially dissipated since the rationalist ruminations of Descartes and Leibniz. The nascent articulatio n of the epistemological insolvability of the mind-body problem that has so gravely and garishly confronted contemporary theorists of mind can, in fact, be found in the philosophical work of these two notable modernist thinkers. -
Consciousness
Consciousness Jon Opie* School of Humanities, University of Adelaide, SA, Australia *Correspondence: [email protected] Understanding consciousness and its place in the natural world is one of the principal targets of contemporary philosophy of mind. Australian philosophers made seminal contributions to this project during the twentieth century which continue to shape the way philosophers and scientists think about the conceptual, metaphysical and empirical aspects of the problem. After some scene setting, I will discuss the main players and their work in the context of broader developments in the philosophy of mind. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, scientific psychology set itself the task of systematically exploring the mind, understood as the conscious activity that accompanies perception and thought. Labs in Germany and the United States began the tedious work of determining the structure of experience via the reports of trained subjects operating under carefully controlled stimulus conditions. The hope was that the phenomena revealed by this means might eventually be correlated with activity in the central nervous system. Many philosophers considered this project misguided. The logical positivists, who insisted that a statement is only meaningful if one can specify observable conditions that would render it true or false, rejected the view that psychological predicates such as „pain‟ have any subjective content. A statement like „Paul has a toothache‟ is merely an abbreviation for a list of physical events (such as Paul weeping, Paul‟s blood pressure rising, etc.) which collectively exhaust the meaning of the statement (Hempel 1980). Ryle (1949) and Wittgenstein (1953) regarded the so called „mind-body problem‟ as the result of a misuse of ordinary language. -
The Knowledge Argument Against Physicalism
Handout 8 The Knowledge Argument against Physicalism 1. Some Terminology Physicalism – all information is physical information (Another possible formulation: all facts are physical facts) Physical information - The information given by science (note: Jackson doesn’t regard this as a definition, since it’s somewhat vague) A Qualia Freak – Someone who thinks that there are features of bodily sensations and perceptual experiences that no amount of physical information includes. These features are called “qualia”: the hurtfulness of pain, the itchiniess of itches, how it feels to be jealous, taste a lemon, etc. 2. The Knowledge Argument for Qualia Fred – Fred can make all the color discriminations we make plus more. Show him a batch of ripe tomatoes and he’ll sort them into two piles which he says are as different to him in terms of color appearance as yellow is from blue. He calls these calls “red1” and “red2.” 1. We can gain all the physical information about Fred that we like and we still won’t know certain information about Fred: what kind of experience Fred has when he says red1 and red2. 2. Not all information is physical information (This can be dramatized by imagining that Fred donates his body to science and they are able to transplant his optical system into somebody else. After the operation this person will know more about Fred than was known before). Mary – Mary is a brilliant scientist who has spent her whole life in a black and white room. She is an expert on color vision and neurophysiology and knows all the physical information one could possibly know about color vision. -
An Anthology of Philosophical Studies
Introduction AN ANTHOLOGY OF PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES Edited by PATRICIA HANNA ADRIANNE L. MCEVOY PENELOPE VOUTSINA ATINER 2006 1 An Anthology of Philosophical Studies 2 Introduction Athens Institute for Education and Research 2006 An Anthology of Philosophical Studies Edited by Patricia Hanna Adrianne L. McEvoy Penelope Voutsina 3 An Anthology of Philosophical Studies PUBLISHED BY ATHENS INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH 14 Solomou Street, 10683 Athens, Greece Tel. +30 210 36.34.210 Fax +30 210.36.34.209 Email: [email protected] URL: www.atiner.gr This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of the Athens Institute for Education and Research. First Published: 2006 ISBN: 978-960-6672-11-8 Typeset, printed and binding by Theta Co. 4 Introduction Table of Contents List of Contributors i Introduction 1 Voutsina, P. PART I EPISTEMOLOGY 1. Imagination in Descartes’ Skepticism 7 Scholl, A. 2. Descartes on Sensations and Ideas of Sensations 17 Cunning, D. 3. The Myth of Hume’s Compatibilism 33 Morris, E.W. 4. From Contextualism to Skepticism 43 Wilburn, R. 5. The Puzzle of Self-Knowledge 51 Voutsina, P. 6. Unconfined Rationality: A Normative yet Realistic Model of 59 Inference Morado, R. and Savion, L. PART II METAPHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 7. Language as Community Property: What’s Wrong with 75 Chomsky’s Individualism? Hanna, P. 8. What do Concepts Consist of? The Role of Geometric and 93 Proprioceptive Information in Categorization Dellantonio, S. and Pastore, L. -
Chalmers' Refutation of Materialists Concept of Consciousness
IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 15, Issue 5 (Sep. - Oct. 2013), PP 38-41 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.Iosrjournals.Org Chalmers’ Refutation of Materialists Concept of Consciousness Dr. Shanjendu Nath Associate Professor, Rabindrasadan Girls’ College, Karimganj, Assam, India. Abstract: It is undoubtedly true that the phenomenon of consciousness is familiar to us and cannot be denied. In our waking lives at every moment we are conscious of something or other. But the problem is- what is consciousness? Can it be known? Attempts have been made to explain the nature of it by different philosophers in different times but yet none can give us a satisfactory and well accepted solution of the problem. But yet effort is not stopped. Materialists believe that there is nothing over and above matter and thereby they opine that consciousness is a process in the brain. Thus in this article I shall try to highlight a brief outlines of the materialist concept of consciousness, particularly the views of U. T. Place and Armstrong and finally explore Chalmers’ arguments against materialism. Key Words: proprioception, supervenience, zombie, consciousness, metaphysical. I. Introduction It is true that in recent times much progress has been made in the science of mind. For a better understanding of the human behaviour and of the processes that produce it, the recent work in cognitive science and neuroscience is leading us. In theories of cognition we do not have perfection but it is sure that the details are not too far from our reach. Yet consciousness is a matter of puzzle. -
Divine Idealism As Physicalism? Reflections on the Structural Definition of Physicalism
DIVINE IDEALISM AS PHYSICALISM? REFLECTIONS ON THE STRUCTURAL DEFINITION OF PHYSICALISM Jon W. Thompson Hempel’s Dilemma remains at the center of the problem of defining phys- icalism. In brief, the dilemma asks whether physicalism should be defined by appeal to current or future physics. If defined by current physics, phys- icalism is almost certainly false. If defined by an ideal future physics, then physicalism has little determinable content. Montero and Papineau have innovatively suggested that the dilemma may be avoided by defining phys- icalism structurally. While their definition is one among many definitions, it is significant in that—if successful—it would break the impasse for defining physicalism. I argue, however, that the structural definition fails because it counts metaphysical frameworks (crucially, versions of divine idealism) as “physicalist”—an unwelcome result for physicalists. This paper thus furthers the debate on the definition of physicalism and sheds light on the relationship between physicalism and idealism. 1. Hempel’s Dilemma Physicalism is often defined as the view that all that exists is what physics studies; but many voices have raised concerns over such a definition. In- deed, the problem of defining physicalism has been with us for some time now.1 “Hempel’s Dilemma” puts the problem in exacting focus: when the physicalist claims that all that exists is physical, is she claiming that [A] All that exists is what is studied by current physics or that [B] All that exists is what is studied by some ideal, perhaps future, physics?2 If the physi- calist intends [A], then physicalism is clearly false. -
On David Chalmers's the Conscious Mind
Philosophy and Phenomenological Research Vol. LIX, No.2, June 1999 On David Chalmers's The Conscious Mind SYDNEY SHOEMAKER Cornell University One does not have to agree with the main conclusions of David Chalmers's book in order to find it stimulating, instructive, and frequently brilliant. If Chalmers's arguments succeed, his achievement will of course be enormous~ he will have overthrown the materialist orthodoxy that has reigned in philos ophy of mind and cognitive science for the last half century. If, as I think, they fail, his achievement is nevertheless considerable. For his arguments draw on, and give forceful and eloquent expression to, widely held intuitions~ seeing how they go astray, if they do, cannot help but deepen our understand ing of the issues he is addressing. I shall focus on three points: Chalmers's conceivability argument for the possibility of "zombies," which grounds his dualism about phenomenal con sciousness ~ his "paradox of phenomenal judgment" ~ and the "dancing qualia argument" with which he supports his principle of organizational invariance. I Chalmers thinks that we can conceive of a world physically just like the actual world in which there are creatures, "zombies," which despite being physical and functional duplicates of conscious beings.in the actual world are themselves devoid of phenomenal consciousness. The states of these creatures lack phenomenal properties, or qualia. He takes the conceivability of such a world to establish its possibility. He takes this to show that phenomenal consciousness does not "logically supervene" on physical facts. And he takes this to show that it is not itself physical. -
An Immaterial Thing: the Case for Dualism Today We Turn to Our Second Big Question: What Are You?
What am I? An immaterial thing: the case for dualism Today we turn to our second big question: What are you? We can focus this question a little bit by introducing the idea of a physical or material thing. To a first approximation, a material thing is a thing entirely composed of the sorts of things described in physics: electrons, quarks, etc. Materialism, or physicalism, in general is the claim that every thing — every thing that exists — is a material thing. There are two views opposed to materialism. One is dualism. According to dualism (as the name suggests) there are two sorts of things: material things, and immaterial things. The second opposed view is idealism. According to idealism, there are no material things, and everything that exists is immaterial. According to materialism about human beings, you are material thing. You are something which, like tables, clouds, trees, and amoebae, is entirely composed of the basic particles studied in physics. According to materialism about human beings, you are material thing. You are something which, like tables, clouds, trees, and amoebae, is entirely composed of the basic particles studied in physics. Many of the ways we ordinarily think and talk about ourselves seem to suggest that we endorse materialism about ourselves. Consider, for example, the question of whether you are currently sitting in a chair. Could an immaterial thing occupy space, and sit in a chair? But other ways that we think and talk about ourselves suggest that we think of ourselves as immaterial things. For example, many people think that it is possible for human beings to enjoy life after death, and hence to exist even after one’s body has ceased to exist; and to many it has seemed easiest to understand how this could be possible if think of ourselves, not as immaterial bodies, but as immaterial souls or minds. -
Qualia, the Heart of the Mind-Body Problem and Epistemology's
Augsburg Honors Review Volume 12 Article 4 2019 Qualia, the Heart of the Mind-Body Problem and Epistemology’s Quagmire Allison Mangan Augsburg University Follow this and additional works at: https://idun.augsburg.edu/honors_review Part of the Epistemology Commons Recommended Citation Mangan, Allison (2019) "Qualia, the Heart of the Mind-Body Problem and Epistemology’s Quagmire," Augsburg Honors Review: Vol. 12 , Article 4. Available at: https://idun.augsburg.edu/honors_review/vol12/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Undergraduate at Idun. It has been accepted for inclusion in Augsburg Honors Review by an authorized editor of Idun. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Allison Mangan Qualia, the Heart of the Mind-Body Problem and Epistemology’s Quagmire Alio Maga, Augbug Univesty ualia are layered and complex, the basic philosophic understanding a labyrinth of a concept, of qualia today. We will see how Q rife with debate as to their consciousness is necessary for qualia, existence, state, and what they mean and why this makes defning qualia for our understanding of knowledge, a challenge. Next, we will go over the relationship with the world, and explanatory gap of qualia. From there, ourselves. Toughtful exploration into we will see how qualia relate to the mind- the complexities of what qualia are body problem, and the early exploration and how they relate to the mind-body of this problem through Descartes, problem will be wrestled with though Locke, and Berkeley. Additionally, we research applied within this paper. will go over the main schools of thought Qualia can be found in philosophical that surround the mind-body problem: debates surrounding epistemology materialism, idealism, and dualism. -
Russellian Panpsychism: Do We Need It and Is It Enough?
Russellian Panpsychism: Do We Need It and Is It Enough? By Damian Aleksiev Submitted to Central European University Department of Philosophy In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy Supervisor: Philip Goff CEU eTD Collection May 2016 Abstract The main aim of this thesis is to clarify the ontological status of phenomenal experience. In order to do this, I first examine how pure physicalism explains phenomenality. Pure physicalism relies on the structural and causal vocabulary of physics, and is compatible with the causal closure of the physical. Nonetheless, I argue that pure physicalism is false since it cannot account for our intuitive understating of phenomenal experience as something beyond-structural. I supplement these intuitions, first with the knowledge and conceivability arguments, and second with my own argument for the transparency of phenomenal concepts called the argument from solipsism. Then, I investigate Russellian panpsychism as a promising alternative to pure physicalism that attempts to solve its problems without any drawbacks. Russellian panpsychism places phenomenal experience at the fundamental ontological level, and at the same time remains compatible with the causal closure of the physical. Finally, I argue against Russellian panpsychism based on the combination problem, as well as my own: reverse conceivability argument, and combination problem for value. The conclusion of this enquiry is that neither pure physicalism nor Russellian panpsychism can provide a satisfactory account of phenomenal experience. CEU eTD Collection I Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor Philip Goff for his continual support and willingness to discuss my ideas during the entire academic year. -
Is the Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness Compatible with Russellian Panpsychism?
Is the Integrated Information Theory of Consciousness Compatible with Russellian Panpsychism? Hedda Hassel Mørch Erkenntnis (2018) Penultimate draft – please refer to published version for citation. Abstract: The Integrated Information Theory (IIT) is a leading scientific theory of consciousness, which implies a kind of panpsychism. In this paper, I consider whether IIT is compatible with a particular kind of panpsychism known as Russellian panpsychism, which purports to avoid the main problems of both physicalism and dualism. I will first show that if IIT were compatible with Russellian panpsychism, it would contribute to solving Russellian panpsychism’s combination problem, which threatens to show that the view does not avoid the main problems of physicalism and dualism after all. I then show that the theories are not compatible as they currently stand, in view of what I call the coarse-graining problem. After I explain the coarse-graining problem, I will offer two possible solutions, each involving a small modification of IIT. Given either of these modifications, IIT and Russellian panpsychism may be fully compatible after all, and jointly enable significant progress on the mind–body problem. 1 Introduction Panpsychism is the view that every physical thing is associated with consciousness. More precisely, it is the view that every physical thing is either (1) conscious as a whole, (2) made of parts which are all conscious, or (3) itself forms part of a greater conscious whole. Humans and animals (or certain areas of human and animal brains) are conscious in the first sense—our consciousness is unified, or has a single, subjective point of view.