DOCSLIB.ORG

Modal Empiricism and Two-Dimensional Semantics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Modal Empiricism and Two-Dimensional Semantics =" Modal Empiricismand Two-DimensionalSemantics GergelyAmbrus, Miskolc, Hungary h45í2amb@he|ka.iif.hu l. The concept ofstrong necessity hold that zombies are not possible,even thoughtthey are li:, conceivab|e;víz. certain physica| (brain) events strong|y ]l"1 A strongly necessitates B, when it is not possible that A necessitateconscious events. This view is a version of a and not B, though it is conceivable that A and not B. In posteriorimaterialism, which holds that physical facts de- ..t anotherÍormu|ation: A entai|sB' but it is not priori a fuhatA terminefacts about consciousness.but thev do not deter- entails B (A does not imply B). Strong metaphysicatne- mine them a priori. cessities determine the space oÍ possib|e wor|ds. |f the T'1 space of possible worlds is sparser then the worlds which are (ideallyprimarily positively) conceivable, then whether ll. Chalmers' arguments against strong necessities a world is possible or not, is determinedby some meta- & physical fact, over and above the world's being (ideally One argument of David Chalmers against strong meta- primarily positively) conceivable.' Thus: accepting that physical necessities is the following.There are no candi- - - there are strong necessities commits one to modal empir- dates of strong necessities,except the alleged strong :l icsm;denying it, to modalrationalism. necessity of the brain-consciousnessrelation; and this 1: suggests that strong necessity is an ad froc inventionto a The concept oÍstrong necessity may be i||uminated save materialism.I shall argue, however, that it follows {. further by consideringthe relation between complete de- trom Chalmers, views on the semantics and ontology oÍ iui scriptionof a world w and a particulartrue statementS. lf, microphysica| terms, that there are some oÍherstrong ne- :l given the complete qualitativedescription of world w, S is cessities:microphysical identifications, such as,,Hydrogen true in word w considered as actual (viz. S is true. inter- is the such and such quantumstate"are strongly neces- preted according to its primaryintension), but S is not en- sary. (|fI am right,it a|so Ío||owsthat a posteriorimateria|. tai|eda priori by the comp|etequa|itative description oÍ w, ism cannot be rejected on the general assumption that then the facts described by the complete qualitativede- there are no strong metaphysicalnecessities whatsoever. scription of world w strongly determine the facts S de- However,my argumentclearly does not establishthe truth scribes. of a posteriorimaierialism, I do not have this aim here.) Whether strong metaphysicalnecessities exist, also Chalmers modal rationalistclaim that there are no have implicationsfor the consciousness-brainrelation, in strong necessities whatsoever, is elaborated in terms of the followingway. Chalmers argues that the possibilityof the followingprinciples (Chalmers 2002, 174-188): zombies is sufiicientto refute materialism.Now, zombies seems conceivable (or, at least, I will not challenge this (CP+)ldeal positive 1-Con P ) 1-Pos P assumptionhere), but are they also possible? Accordingto (CP-)ldeal negative 1-Con P ) 1-Pos P modal rationalism the conceivabilityof zombies implies their possibility,according to modal empiricism,it does not. (CP+) and (CP-) do not have the same strengthof eviden- Hence, one way of rejectingthe zombie argument is to tial support; (CP+) is almost certainly true, according to Chalmers, while (CP-) is not. This is not relevant to my r I use DavidChalmers'conceptual apparatus here. argument,however, for I shall deal primarilywith (CP+). Negatíve conceivabl/ÍyoÍ a stateménts: s is not ru|ed out by our concepts. For examp|e, is negative|yconceÍVab|e that bats have bat-experiences, radi- ca|ly diÍferentÍrom human experiences, for the concepts describing the u|tra- lll. My thesis: microphysical identificationsare sound mechanismsof bat perceotiondo not rulethis out. Positive @nceívabilv of a statement s: a positive conception can be formed strongly necessary in which S is the case, (we have the relevant notions for conceiving it). For example, zombies are positivelyconceivable: we have the notions to conceive My thesis is that there are counterexamplesto (CP+);they a beingWho is an exact physica|dup|icate oÍ a norma|human being,but has are ideally positivelyprimarily conceivable, but not primar- no Dhenomenalconsciousness. ily possible. I suggest that microphysicalidentifycation are ldeal conceivabílityis conceivabi|ityby an idea| reasoner (an idea||yrationa| being). such cases: they should count as stronglynecessary, if we Metaphysical possÍbility.What God might have created, had He so chosen adopt Chalmers' semantics and metaphysics of micro- (metaphoricallyput). For example,God could have createda mile-highunicy- physicalterms. cle, but he couldn'thave createda male vixen. Prímary intensÍon.A function rendering extensions to possib|e wor|ds consid- ered as actual. When "considering a world w as actual", we determine the My example is the claim that "Hydrogenis QM". The extension of our terms at Wor|dW as Ío||ows.We take the reÍerence-fixeroí the terms "hydrogen"and "QM" should be understoodas fol- ..hydrogen', terms in world w, and determine what they would pick out in world w, were w Iows. The reÍerence-fixerof is ..hydrogen- the actual world. Secondary intension' A Íunction rendering extensions to possib|e Worlds likeness",viz. having a certain emission spectrum, SpE; considered as counterfactual.When "consideringa world w as counterfactual", QM is a certain quantum-mechanicalstate, which is de- we take the reference-fixerof the terms in the actual world, detemine what scribed by the Schrödinger-equation,the eigen-va|uesof they picks out in the actual woÍ|d,and render these reÍerencesto world W' A statement S is primarily conceivable (1-Con\, if it is conceivable when inter- which are the energy levels correspondingto the spectrum preted according to iis primary intension' A statement s is /deaily posítively SpE. Inour world,what is hydrogen-likeis QM. pimarily conceivable, iÍ s is positive|y conceivab|e by an idea| reasoner' interpretedaccording to its primary intension' A statement itis pimaÍíly possi- Now considerthe followingargument. b/e (1.Pos)if it is possib|e(there is a possibleWoí|d in Wtrichit is hué),When jt is interpretedaccording to its pÍimaryintension. A statement s is sécondaí' (1) "Hydrogenis not QM" is ideallyprimarily positively poss/b/e (2-Pos), if it is possible, interpretedaccording to its secondary inten- sion. conceivable. There is one sing|e space oÍmetaphysica||y possib|e Wor|ds, ' )': entai|Sá pnbi. (2) lf "Hydrogenis not QM" is ideally primarilypositively (See e.g. Chalmers1996. chap. 2.) conceivable,then "Hydrogenis not QM" is primarilypos- sible. ModalEmpiricism and Two-Dimensional Semantics / GergelyAmbrus 'lHydrogen (3) lf is not QM" is primarilypossible, then The primaryintension of ,,hydrogen"is a constantfunc- "Hydrogenis notQM" is secondarilypossible. tion. Since the secondary intensionof "hydrogen"is the same as its the primary intension (it also renders QM to each "Hydrogen possible. is not QM" is secondarily possible world),therefore (3) holds: if it is primarilypos- But the conclusionmust be false. For if "Hydrogenis QM" sible that "Hydrogenis not QM", then it is also secondarily is true in our world,then it is secondarilynecessarily true possible. "Hydrogen (by re that is QM" the definitionof the secondary Now, iÍwe cannot reject (1) and (3)' then the on|y "Hydrogen lv intension of is QM"), hence it cannot be the option remainingis to reject (2). Rejecting (2) amounts to possible "Hydrogen a case that it is secondarily that is QM". rejecting(CP+)' víz.modal rationa|ism,for it is tantamount premises. e- Hence, we have to rejectone of the to the claim that while it is conceivablethat "Hydrogenis Í- not QM", it is not possible. This means, that "H is QM is The support Íorthe premises strongly necessary: hence we have a case of strong ne- cessity differentfrom the brain-consciousnessrelation As regards (í) a- Objections (1) is true' because it is noÍa priorithat,,Hydrogen is QM'. t1- We may investigatefurther whether the support for (3) is rs For all we can know a priori (in principle),do hot rule out reallyacceptable. is that "Hydrogenis not QM". After all, "Hydrogenis QM" is (i) "semantic to an empiricaltruth. And we can also conceive of a scenario expresses the so-called account of possible Against such an ts in which "Hydrogen is not QM" (namely a scenario, in consideringa world as actual". has formulatedobjections of which "Hydrogenis QM-", QM- being a microphysicalstate interpretationRobert Stalnaker (Stalnaker200'1). *. other than QM). Hence it is both negativelyand positively Ít conceivablethat "Hydrogenis not QM". As against (ii), there are several argumentative v (a) É Note that there is another conception of conceiv- strategies.one |ine is to c|aim,that the semantics oÍ is similarto the semantics of in the sense that at ability which sometimes gets mixed up with the one we ,,H" ,,wate/', its primary reference may change across worlds (As ,,wa- f. used here, namely: ,,it accords with our present know- ..Hydrogen tef' may refer to XYZ, may refer to QM* at some non- El |edge''.|Í is not QM,, were on|y conceivab|ein ,,H" I shall come back to this sense, this would not groundthat "Hydrogenis QM" is actual worlds considered as actual). this later. strongly necessary. However, "Hydrogen is not QM" is ro conceivable in the relevant sense. To see this, consider (ii) (b) of Another line against is to claim that ,,H"does the followingexample. The Goldbach-conjecture(any even not referto some categoricalproperty, but to some disposi- product primes) integeris the oÍtwo and a|so its negation tional,structural property, and this allows that ,,H"does not is conceivable,in the sense that they both accord with our denote QM, but something else in some (non-actual) present knowledge.But they both cannot accord with all worlds considered as actual. According to the now domi- what we can know a pioi in principle.For if the Goldbach- nant view,the propertiesmicrophysical theories attribute to conjectureis true, it is a prioritrue.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Haecceitism, Chance
    HAECCEITISM, CHANCE, AND COUNTERFACTUALS Boris Kment Abstract. Anti-haecceitists believe that all facts about specific individuals—such as the fact that Fred exists, or that Katie is tall—globally supervene on purely qualitative facts. Haecceitists deny that. The issue is not only of interest in itself, but receives additional importance from its intimate connection to the question of whether all fundamental facts are qualitative or whether they include facts about which specific individuals there are and how qualitative properties and relations are distributed over them. Those who think that all fundamental facts are qualitative are arguably committed to anti-haecceitism. The goal of this paper is to point out some problems for anti-haecceitism (and therefore for the thesis that all fundamental facts are qualitative). The article focuses on two common assumptions about possible worlds: (i) Sets of possible worlds are the bearers of objective physical chance. (ii) Counterfactual conditionals can be defined by appeal to a relation of closeness between possible worlds. The essay tries to show that absurd consequences ensue if either of these assumptions is combined with anti-haecceitism. Then it considers a natural response by the anti-haecceitist, which is to deny that worlds play the role described in (i) and (ii). Instead, the reply continues, we can introduce a new set of entities that are defined in terms of worlds and that behave the way worlds do on the haecceitist position. That allows the anti-haecceitist to formulate anti-haecceitist friendly versions of (i) and (ii) by replacing the appeal to possible worlds with reference to the newly introduced entities.
    [Show full text]
  • Mind and Language Seminar: Theories of Content
    Mind and Language Seminar: Theories of Content Ned Block and David Chalmers Meetings • Main meeting: Tuesdays 4-7pm over Zoom [4-6pm in weeks without a visitor] • Student meeting: Mondays 5-6pm hybrid • Starting Feb 22 [only weeks with a visitor] • Enrolled students and NYU philosophy graduate students only. • Feb 2: Background: Theories of Content • Feb 9: Background: Causal/Teleological Theories • Feb 16: Background: Interpretivism • Feb 23: Nick Shea • March 2: Robbie Williams • March 9: Frances Egan • March 16: Adam Pautz • March 23: Veronica Gómez Sánchez • March 30: Background: Phenomenal Intentionality • April 6: Imogen Dickie • April 13: Angela Mendelovici • April 20: Background: Conceptual-Role Semantics • April 27: Christopher Peacocke • May 4: David Chalmers Assessment • Draft paper due April 19 • Term paper due May 17 Attendance Policy • Monday meetings: Enrolled students and NYU philosophy graduate students only. • Tuesday meetings: NYU and NYC Consortium students and faculty only • Very limited exceptions • Email us to sign up on email list if you haven’t already. Introductions Short History of the 20th Century • 1900-1970: Reduce philosophical questions to issues about language and meaning. • 1970s: Theories of meaning (philosophy of language as first philosophy) • 1980s: Theories of mental content (philosophy of mind as first philosophy). • 1990s: Brick wall. Theories of Content • What is content? • What is a theory of content? Content • Content (in the broadest sense?) is intentionality or aboutness • Something has content when it is about something. Contents • Content = truth-conditions • Content = satisfaction-conditions • Content = propositions • Content = objects of intentional states • Content = … What Has Content? • What sort of thing has content? What Has Content? • What sort of thing has content? • language (esp.
    [Show full text]
  • The Puzzle of Conscious Experience (Chalmers)
    The Puzzle of Conscious Experience David J. Chalmers * From David Chalmers, "The Puzzle of Conscious Experience," Scientific American, 273 (1995), pp. 80-6. Reprinted by permission of the author. Conscious experience is at once the most familiar thing in the world and the most mysterious. There is nothing we know about more directly than consciousness, but it is extraordinarily hard to reconcile it with everything else we know. Why does it exist? What does it do? How could it possibly arise from neural processes in the brain? These questions are among the most intriguing in all of science. From an objective viewpoint, the brain is relatively comprehensible. When you look at this page, there is a whir of processing: photons strike your retina, electrical signals are passed up your optic nerve and between different areas of your brain, and eventually you might respond with a smile, a perplexed frown or a remark. But there is also a subjective aspect. When you look at the page, you are conscious of it, directly experiencing the images and words as part of your private, mental life. You have vivid impressions of colored flowers and vibrant sky. At the same time, you may be feeling some emotions and forming some thoughts. Together such experiences make up consciousness: the subjective, inner life of the mind. For many years consciousness was shunned by researchers studying the brain and the mind. The prevailing view was that science, which depends on objectivity, could not accommodate something as subjective as consciousness. The behaviorist movement in psychology, dominant earlier in this century, concentrated on external behavior and disallowed any talk of internal mental processes.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mystery of David Chalmers
    Daniel C. Dennett The Mystery of David Chalmers 1. Sounding the Alarm ‘The Singularity’ is a remarkable text, in ways that many readers may not appreciate. It is written in an admirably forthright and clear style, and is beautifully organized, gradually introducing its readers to the issues, sorting them carefully, dealing with them all fairly and with impressive scholarship, and presenting the whole as an exercise of sweet reasonableness, which in fact it is. But it is also a mystery story of sorts, a cunningly devised intellectual trap, a baffling puzzle that yields its solution — if that is what it is (and that is part of the mystery) — only at the very end. It is like a ‘well made play’ in which every word by every character counts, retrospectively, for something. Agatha Christie never concocted a tighter funnel of implications and suggestions. Bravo, Dave. Copyright (c) Imprint Academic 2013 So what is going on in this essay? It purports to be about the pros- pects of the Singularity, and since I can count on readers of my essay For personal use only -- not for reproduction to have read Chalmers, I needn’t waste so much as a sentence on what that is or might be. See Chalmers (2010). I confess that I was initially repelled by the prospect of writing a commentary on this essay since I have heretofore viewed the Singularity as a dismal topic, involving reflections on a technological fantasy so far removed from actuality as to be an indulgence best resisted. Life is short, and there are many serious problems to think about.
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • The Relationship Between Consciousness and Intentionality
    University of Central Florida STARS HIM 1990-2015 2013 The relationship between consciousness and intentionality Jordan Bell University of Central Florida Part of the Philosophy Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015 University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in HIM 1990-2015 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Bell, Jordan, "The relationship between consciousness and intentionality" (2013). HIM 1990-2015. 1384. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015/1384 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSCIOUSNESS AND INTENTIONALITY by JORDAN BELL A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Honors in the Major Program in Philosophy in the College of Arts & Humanities and in The Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2013 Thesis Chair: Dr. Mason Cash ABSTRACT Within the Philosophy of Mind two features of our mental life have been acknowledged as the most perplexing—consciousness, the phenomenal “what it is likeness” of our mental states, and intentionality, the aboutness or directedness of our mental states. As such, it has become commonplace to develop theories about these phenomena which seek to explain them naturalistically, that is, without resort to magic or miracles. Traditionally this has been done by analyzing consciousness and intentionality apart from one another. However, in more recent years the tide has turned. In contemporary theories these phenomena are typically analyzed in terms of the other.
    [Show full text]
  • THE HORNSWOGGLE PROBLEM1 Patricia Smith Churchland, Department of Philosophy, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
    Journal of Consciousness Studies, 3, No. 5ñ6, 1996, pp. 402ñ8 THE HORNSWOGGLE PROBLEM1 Patricia Smith Churchland, Department of Philosophy, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. Abstract: Beginning with Thomas Nagel, various philosophers have propsed setting con- scious experience apart from all other problems of the mind as ëthe most difficult problemí. When critically examined, the basis for this proposal reveals itself to be unconvincing and counter-productive. Use of our current ignorance as a premise to determine what we can never discover is one common logical flaw. Use of ëI-cannot-imagineí arguments is a related flaw. When not much is known about a domain of phenomena, our inability to imagine a mechanism is a rather uninteresting psychological fact about us, not an interesting metaphysical fact about the world. Rather than worrying too much about the meta-problem of whether or not consciousness is uniquely hard, I propose we get on with the task of seeing how far we get when we address neurobiologically the problems of mental phenomena. I: Introduction Conceptualizing a problem so we can ask the right questions and design revealing experiments is crucial to discovering a satisfactory solution to the problem. Asking where animal spirits are concocted, for example, turns out not to be the right question to ask about the heart. When Harvey asked instead, ëHow much blood does the heart pump in an hour?í, he conceptualized the problem of heart function very differently. The recon- ceptualization was pivotal in coming to understand that the heart is really a pump for circulating blood; there are no animal spirits to concoct.
    [Show full text]
  • "The Hard Problem of Consciousness" and Two Arguments for Interactionism
    Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers Volume 26 Issue 5 Article 4 12-1-2009 "The Hard Problem of Consciousness" and Two Arguments for Interactionism Vadim V. Vasilyev Follow this and additional works at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy Recommended Citation Vasilyev, Vadim V. (2009) ""The Hard Problem of Consciousness" and Two Arguments for Interactionism," Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers: Vol. 26 : Iss. 5 , Article 4. DOI: 10.5840/faithphil200926552 Available at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy/vol26/iss5/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers by an authorized editor of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. “THE HARD PROBLEM OF CONSCIOUSNESS” AND TWO ARGUMENTS FOR INTERACTIONISM Vadim V. Vasilyev The paper begins with a restatement of Chalmers’s “hard problem of con- sciousness.” It is suggested that an interactionist approach is one of the pos- sible solutions of this problem. Some fresh arguments against the identity theory and epiphenomenalism as main rivals of interactionism are devel- oped. One of these arguments has among its corollaries a denial of local su- pervenience, although not of the causal closure principle. As a result of these considerations a version of “local interactionism” (compatible with causal closure) is proposed. It is argued that local interactionism may offer a fruitful path for resolving the “hard problem.” In 1994 the more or less routine discussions on the mind-body problem were thrown into an uproar by David Chalmers.
    [Show full text]
  • Dennett's Theory of the Folk Theory of Consciousness
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Philsci-Archive Dennett’s Theory of the Folk Theory of Consciousness1 Justin Sytsma Abstract: It is not uncommon to find assumptions being made about folk psychology in the discussions of phenomenal consciousness in philosophy of mind. In this article I consider one example, focusing on what Dan Dennett says about the “folk theory of consciousness.” I show that he holds that the folk believe that qualities like colors that we are acquainted with in ordinary perception are phenomenal qualities. Nonetheless, the shape of the folk theory is an empirical matter and in the absence of empirical investigation there is ample room for doubt. Fortunately, experimental evidence on the topic is now being produced by experimental philosophers and psychologists. This article contributes to this growing literature, presenting the results of six new studies on the folk view of colors and pains. I argue that the results indicate against Dennett’s theory of the folk theory of consciousness. The existence of phenomenal consciousness is often taken for granted in the philosophical and scientific literature on the topic. Sometimes, this attitude is supported by claims that phenomenal consciousness is in some way evident in our ordinary experience itself.2 The prevalence of this attitude can also be seen in the way that some skeptics about phenomenal consciousness discuss the supposed phenomenon. For example, the qualia eliminativist Dan Dennett seems to accept that belief in qualia is part of our “folk theory of consciousness” (2005, 31). In contrast, I have argued that phenomenal consciousness is not evident in ordinary experience alone—that it is not phenomenologically obvious—and that this can be drawn out by 1 To appear in the Journal of Consciousness Studies.
    [Show full text]
  • Empfindungsfähigkeit Und Moralischer Status Eine Kritik Der Pathozentrischen Ethik
    Empfindungsfähigkeit und moralischer Status Eine Kritik der pathozentrischen Ethik Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie im Fachbereich A Geistes- und Kulturwissenschaften der Bergischen Universität Wuppertal vorgelegt von Erasmus Scheuer aus Düsseldorf Wuppertal, im Januar 2018 Die Dissertation kann wie folgt zitiert werden: urn:nbn:de:hbz:468-20180503-133904-3 [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn=urn%3Anbn%3Ade%3Ahbz% 3A468-20180503-133904-3] alles bleibt wie es ist Geheimnis in einem Geheimnis Muster in einem Muster (Norbert Scheuer – Nichts) Meinen Eltern, Elvira und Norbert Scheuer Vorwort Der Pathozentrismus betrachtet die Leidens- oder Empfindungsfähigkeit aller, auch nichtmenschlicher Spezies als zentrales moralisches Kriterium. Diese Arbeit hat die pathozentrische Position zum Gegenstand und bewegt sich bewusst zwischen Kritik und Verteidigung eines solchen Ansatzes. Einerseits liegen die Schwächen des Pa- thozentrismus m.E. mehr oder weniger offen zu Tage, da die Kluft zwischen Empfin- dungen des Menschen und den Empfindungen anderer Spezies nur schwer inner- halb eines naturwissenschaftlich-physikalistischen Weltbildes überbrückbar erscheint. Andererseits vertrete ich als Verfasser dieser Arbeit die Ansicht, dass eine Erweiterung der Moralobjekte über die Menschen hinaus erfolgen muss, dass das Leiden anderer Kreaturen Teil einer jeden ethischen Betrachtung sein sollte. Der Pa- thozentrismus vertritt mit seinem Kriterium der Leidens- bzw. Empfindungsfähigkeit eine ethische Position, die vom Ansatz her eine Erweiterung der Moralobjekte an- strebt. Aus diesem Grund liegt meine Sympathie beim Pathozentristen. Infolgedes- sen versucht diese Arbeit, einerseits die Kritik am Pathozentrismus aufzuzeigen, an- dererseits dem Pathozentristen auch Argumente an die Hand zu geben, die es ihm erlauben, seine Position zu verteidigen. Der Pathozentrist hat nach meiner Ansicht zwei schwerwiegende und grundlegende Probleme, wenn er seine Ethik innerhalb eines tendenziell physikalistischen Weltbildes zu verteidigen sucht.
    [Show full text]
  • Idealism, Panpsychism and Emergentism
    The Radical Wing of Consciousness Studies: Idealism, Panpsychism and Emergentism 1 Why Consider Radical Approaches? There is always a legitimate philosophical interest in the history of significant doctrines and there is no doubt that all of idealism, panpsychism and emergentism have illustrious pasts. They have been championed by very heavy weight thinkers; no history of philosophy could ignore them. But unlike topics that have, as we say, purely historical interest (for exam- ple, Aristotle’s views on spontaneous generation) the problem of consciousness remains the subject of intense investigation and despite staggering advances in the scientific study of the brain remains fundamentally unsolved. Why is that? The answer lies in a certain under- standing of the physical and the roadblock this throws up when we try to integrate subjective experience into a world whose nature is restricted to that conception of the physical. The modern locus of this concern is Thomas Nagel’s (1974) famous reflection on our inability to get a grip on the subjective nature of non-human consciousness despite the openness to investigation of the objective world specified in our physical theories1. This way of problematizing consciousness shows that it can be understood in quite simple terms: not ‘self-consciousness’ or ‘transcendental subjectivity’, or awareness of the self as a subject, or awareness of one’s own mental states, or the ability to conceptualize one’s own mental states as such. Consciousness is simply sentience, or the way things are present to the mind (abstracting from the question of whether anything exists which matches what is present).
    [Show full text]
  • Panpsychism, Priority Cosmopsychism and Information
    Fundamental Consciousness: Panpsychism, Priority Cosmopsychism and Information By Nino Kadić Submitted to Central European University Department of Philosophy In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Philosophy Supervisor: Philip A. Goff Budapest, Hungary CEU eTD Collection 2016 Abstract In this thesis, I argue that consciousness cannot be explained solely in terms of the facts revealed to us by empirical science. This is explained through a discussion of the explanatory gap between our knowledge of physical facts and those regarding consciousness. Specifically, I argue against the Phenomenal Concept Strategy, a fairly recent approach to answering anti-physicalist arguments. I then claim that if we take consciousness as something that cannot be explained in purely physical terms, we must also say that it is a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of reality. I explain the motivation for accepting this claim by considering what it means for something to be an intrinsic nature and by addressing the problem of strong emergence. The result of these considerations is panpsychism, the theory that consciousness truly is fundamental and ubiquitous. After that, I introduce the combination problem, the issue of how small subjects combine into bigger subjects. Priority cosmopsychism is then offered as a possible way of avoiding the combination problem. I then argue against priority cosmopsychism, claiming instead that we should remain panpsychists. I then move on to suggest a solution to the combination problem based on a discussion of syntactic and semantic information. I argue that information can be used to explain how small subjects bond to form bigger subjects. The final result is an informational form of panpsychism.
    [Show full text]