The Varieties of Physicalist Ontology: a Study in Whitehead's Process
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The Eliminativist Approach to Consciousness Position Paper
The Eliminativist Approach to Consciousness Position paper This essay explains my version of an eliminativist approach to understanding conscious- ness. It suggests that we stop thinking in terms of "conscious" and "unconscious" and in- stead look at physical systems for what they are and what they can do. This perspective dis- solves some biases in our usual perspective and shows us that the world is not composed of conscious minds moving through unconscious matter, but rather, the world is a unified whole, with some sub-processes being more fancy and self-reflective than others. I think eliminativism should be combined with more intuitive understandings of consciousness to ensure that its moral applications stay on the right track. 12 December 2015 Position paper by the Eective Altruism Foundation. Preferred citation: Tomasik, B. (2006). The Eliminativist Approach to Consciousness. Position paper by the Eective Altruism Foundation (2): 1-9. First published 12 December 2015. www.longtermrisk.org www.ea-stiung.org Contents Introduction.............................1 Motivating eliminativism....................2 Thinking physically........................3 Eliminativist sentience valuation..............3 Living in zombieland.......................4 Why this discussion matters..................4 Does eliminativism eliminate empathy?.........5 The subjective and objective need each other.....5 Eliminativism and panpsychism...............6 Denying consciousness altogether.............6 Does eliminativism explain phenomenology?......7 Bibliography............................9 -
Iv. Causal Interactions of Consciousness, Unconscious Mind and Brain1
IV. CAUSAL INTERACTIONS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, UNCONSCIOUS MIND AND BRAIN1 MAX VELMANS 1. WHAT NEEDS TO BE EXPLAINED The potential effect of the mind on the body is also taken for granted in psychosomatic medicine. But how the conscious mind exercises its influ- ence is not easy to understand. In principle, there are four distinct ways in which body/brain and mind/consciousness might enter into causal relation- ships. There might be physical causes of physical states, physical causes of mental states, mental causes of mental states, and mental causes of physical states. Establishing which forms of causation are effective in practice is important, not just for a deeper understanding of mind/body interactions, but also for the proper treatment of some forms of illness and disease. Within conventional medicine, physicalÆphysical causation is taken for granted. Consequently, the proper treatment for physical disorders is assumed to be some form of physical intervention. Psychiatry takes the efficacy of physicalÆmental causation for granted, along with the assump- tion that the proper treatment for psychological disorders may involve psychoactive drugs, neurosurgery and so on. Many forms of psychotherapy take mentalÆmental causation for granted, and assume that psychological disorders can be alleviated by means of “talking cures”, guided imagery, hypnosis and other forms of mental intervention. Psychosomatic medicine assumes that mentalÆphysical causation can be effective. Consequently, under some circumstances, a physical disorder (for example, hysterical paralysis) may require a mental (psychotherapeutic) intervention. Given the extensive evidence for all these causal interactions (cf. readings in Velmans 1996a), how are we to make sense of them? 2. -
How Can We Solve the Meta-Problem of Consciousness?
How Can We Solve the Meta-Problem of Consciousness? David J. Chalmers I am grateful to the authors of the 39 commentaries on my article “The Meta-Problem of Consciousness”. I learned a great deal from reading them and from thinking about how to reply.1 The commentaries divide fairly nearly into about three groups. About half of them discuss po- tential solutions to the meta-problem. About a quarter of them discuss the question of whether in- tuitions about consciousness are universal, widespred, or culturally local. About a quarter discuss illusionism about consciousness and especially debunking arguments that move from a solution to the meta-problem to illusionism. Some commentaries fit into more than one group and some do not fit perfectly into any, but with some stretching this provides a natural way to divide them. As a result, I have divided my reply into three parts, each of which can stand alone. This first part is “How can We Solve the Meta-Problem of Conscousness?”. The other two parts are “Is the Hard Problem of Consciousness Universal?” and “Debunking Arguments for Illusionism about Consciousness”. How can we solve the meta-problem? As a reminder, the meta-problem is the problem of explaining our problem intuitions about consciousness, including the intuition that consciousness poses a hard problem and related explanatory and metaphysical intuitions, among others. One constraint is to explain the intuitions in topic-neutral terms (for example, physical, computational, structural, or evolutionary term) that do not make explicit appeal to consciousness in the explana- tion. In the target article, I canvassed about 15 potential solutions to the meta-problem. -
1 CURRICULUM VITAE MICHAEL GRAZIANO Last Updated May 2019
CURRICULUM VITAE MICHAEL GRAZIANO Last updated May 2019 Department of Psychology Peretsman-Scully Hall Princeton University Princeton, N.J. 08544-1010 Tel: (609) 258-7555 email: [email protected] DEGREES AND POSITIONS 2017- Full Professor, Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience, Princeton University. 2007-2017 Associate Professor, Dept. of Psychology, Princeton University. 2001-2007 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychology, Princeton University. 1998-2001 Research Staff, Princeton University. 1996-1998 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Princeton University. 1996 PhD in Neuroscience, Princeton University. 1991-1996 Graduate student, Dept. of Psychology, Princeton University. 1989-1991 Graduate student, Dept. of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT. 1989 BA, Princeton University. INVITED LECTURES 2019 TEDx Cornell 2019 Colloquium speaker, Taipei, National University of Taiwan 2019 Invited Speaker, NIH, Conference on Consciousness and Attention 2018 Invited Speaker, Max Planck Symposium on Consciousness, Berlin 2018 Keynote Speaker, European Society for Philosophy and Psychology, Rejika, Croatia 2018 Invited Speaker, Trinity College, Doublin 2018 Invited Speaker Chile Science Festival, 2017 Keynote speaker, Designed Mind Conference, Edinburgh. 2016 Colloquium speaker, Montreal 2016 Invited speaker, Neurocom summer school, Leipzig. 2016 Keynote speaker, ASSC, Buenos Aires. 2016 Colloquium speaker, George Washington University. 2016 Colloquium speaker, University College London. 2015 Invited Speaker, Accessibility and Consciousness Conference, Paris. 2015 -
Metaphilosophy of Consciousness Studies
Part Three Metaphilosophy of Consciousness Studies Bloomsbury companion to the philosophy of consciousness.indb 185 24-08-2017 15:48:52 Bloomsbury companion to the philosophy of consciousness.indb 186 24-08-2017 15:48:52 11 Understanding Consciousness by Building It Michael Graziano and Taylor W. Webb 1 Introduction In this chapter we consider how to build a machine that has subjective awareness. The design is based on the recently proposed attention schema theory (Graziano 2013, 2014; Graziano and Kastner 2011; Graziano and Webb 2014; Kelly et al. 2014; Webb and Graziano 2015; Webb, Kean and Graziano 2016). This hypothetical building project serves as a way to introduce the theory in a step-by-step manner and contrast it with other brain-based theories of consciousness. At the same time, this chapter is more than a thought experiment. We suggest that the machine could actually be built and we encourage artificial intelligence experts to try. Figure 11.1 frames the challenge. The machine has eyes that take in visual input (an apple in this example) and pass information to a computer brain. Our task is to build the machine such that it has a subjective visual awareness of the apple in the same sense that humans describe subjective visual awareness. Exactly what is meant by subjective awareness is not a priori clear. Most people have an intuitive notion that is probably not easily put into words. One goal of this building project is to see if a clearer definition of subjective awareness emerges from the constrained process of trying to build it. -
Whole-Brain Models to Explore Altered States of Consciousness from the Bottom Up
brain sciences Review Whole-Brain Models to Explore Altered States of Consciousness from the Bottom Up Rodrigo Cofré 1,* , Rubén Herzog 2 , Pedro A.M. Mediano 3 , Juan Piccinini 4,5, Fernando E. Rosas 6,7,8 , Yonatan Sanz Perl 4,9 and Enzo Tagliazucchi 4,5 1 CIMFAV-Ingemat, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile 2 Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia de Valparaíso, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2360103, Chile; [email protected] 3 Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK; [email protected] 4 National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina; [email protected] (J.P.); [email protected] (Y.S.P.); [email protected] (E.T.) 5 Buenos Aires Physics Institute and Physics Department, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires C1428EGA, Argentina 6 Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2DD, UK; [email protected] 7 Data Science Institute, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK 8 Centre for Complexity Science, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK 9 Departamento de Matemáticas y Ciencias, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires B1644BID, Argentina * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 26 July 2020; Accepted: 7 September 2020; Published: 10 September 2020 Abstract: The scope of human consciousness includes states departing from what most of us experience as ordinary wakefulness. These altered states of consciousness constitute a prime opportunity to study how global changes in brain activity relate to different varieties of subjective experience. We consider the problem of explaining how global signatures of altered consciousness arise from the interplay between large-scale connectivity and local dynamical rules that can be traced to known properties of neural tissue. -
Velmans, Max and Nagasawa, Yujin. 2012. Introduction to Monist Alternatives to Physicalism
Velmans, Max and Nagasawa, Yujin. 2012. Introduction to Monist Alternatives to Physicalism. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 19(9-10), pp. 7-18. ISSN 1355-8250 [Article] https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/26069/ The version presented here may differ from the published, performed or presented work. Please go to the persistent GRO record above for more information. If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Goldsmiths, University of London via the following email address: [email protected]. The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated. For more information, please contact the GRO team: [email protected] 1 Introduction to Monist Alternatives to Physicalism Max Velmans and Yujin Nagasawa In M. Velmans & Y. Nagasawa (eds.) (2012) Journal of Consciousness Studies: Special Issue on Monist Alternatives to Physicalism, Vol. 19, No. 9-10, 7-18. In the history of Western thought, attempts to understand the relationship of mind and consciousness to body and brain have largely been shaped by competing monist versus dualist convictions about whether these are different types of entity or process. Bodies and brains seem to be very different from minds and consciousness. Arms and legs for example seem to be made of completely different “stuff” to thoughts and feelings. Nor can one find qualia by examining bits of the brain. Consequently, dualists argue that body/brain and mind/consciousness are different types of thing. There is also extensive evidence that the body and brain affect mind and consciousness via the senses (for example that the visual system affects visual experience) and that mind and consciousness affect the body and brain (for example in the way that visual experiences, thoughts, and conscious choices influence subsequent actions). -
ID Lecture 10 Mind Issues 2014
Intelligent Design vs. Evolution Defending God’s Creation Matthew 7:12 12 "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” Sexual Dimorphism • Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior. Peacock’s Tail • “The peacock has a very ornate plumage which it uses to attract peahens. The peacock will use its ornate plumage to court a mate.” from Wikipedia ! • “One of the most ostentatiously adorned creatures on Earth, the peacock uses its brilliant plumage to entice females.” from National Geographic website Peacock’s Tail • “It is hard to see a peacock’s tail as something other than an impediment to his survival” from PBS series Evolution ! • Limits peacocks to short bursts of flight • Easily spotted by predators and humans Sexual Selection • Proposed by Charles Darwin • Powerful Driving force behind evolution • But why sexual reproduction at all? – Genetic Variability Theory – Research on certain minnows in Mexico • Reproduce sexually and asexually • resistance to parasites • Drought contradicted findings Sexual Selection • “Some believe it all got started billions of years ago, with two single-celled creatures sharing a chance encounter in the primordial night. They meet, and genes are exchanged. … The moment is brief, but it leaves them a little bit stronger, a little more likely to survive and reproduce.” from PBS series Evolution • “Sexual selection is often powerful enough to produce features that are harmful to the individual's survival. For example, extravagant and colorful tail feathers or fins are likely to attract predators as well as interested members of the opposite sex." from Understanding Evolution for Teachers web resource • We found no evidence that peahens expressed any preference for peacocks with more elaborate trains (i.e. -
ARE WE REALLY CONSCIOUS?” by Michael C
“ARE WE REALLY CONSCIOUS?” By Michael C. Graziano New York Times, October 10, 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/12/opinion/sunday/are-we-really- conscious.html?smid=nytcore-ipad-share&smprod=nytcore-ipad&_r=0 OF the three most fundamental scientific questions about the human condition, two have been answered. First, what is our relationship to the rest of the universe? Copernicus answered that one. We’re not at the center. We’re a speck in a large place. Second, what is our relationship to the diversity of life? Darwin answered that one. Biologically speaking, we’re not a special act of creation. We’re a twig on the tree of evolution. Third, what is the relationship between our minds and the physical world? Here, we don’t have a settled answer. We know something about the body and brain, but what about the subjective life inside? Consider that a computer, if hooked up to a camera, can process information about the wavelength of light and determine that grass is green. But we humans also experience the greenness. We have an awareness of information we process. What is this mysterious aspect of ourselves? Many theories have been proposed, but none has passed scientific muster. I believe a major change in our perspective on consciousness may be necessary, a shift from a credulous and egocentric viewpoint to a skeptical and slightly disconcerting one: namely, that we don’t actually have inner feelings in the way most of us think we do. Imagine a group of scholars in the early 17th century, debating the process that purifies white light and rids it of all colors. -
A Defense of a Sentiocentric Approach to Environmental Ethics
University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2012 Minding Nature: A Defense of a Sentiocentric Approach to Environmental Ethics Joel P. MacClellan University of Tennessee, Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons Recommended Citation MacClellan, Joel P., "Minding Nature: A Defense of a Sentiocentric Approach to Environmental Ethics. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2012. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1433 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Joel P. MacClellan entitled "Minding Nature: A Defense of a Sentiocentric Approach to Environmental Ethics." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Philosophy. John Nolt, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Jon Garthoff, David Reidy, Dan Simberloff Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) MINDING NATURE: A DEFENSE OF A SENTIOCENTRIC APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Joel Patrick MacClellan August 2012 ii The sedge is wither’d from the lake, And no birds sing. -
Global Workspace Theory: a Prominent Scientific Approach to the Nature of Consciousness
RESEARCH PAPER Philosophy Volume : 3 | Issue : 9 | Sept 2013 | ISSN - 2249-555X Global Workspace Theory: A Prominent Scientific Approach to the Nature of Consciousness KEYWORDS Global work space, modularity, hard problem, multiple draft model Dr. Sheeja O.K Lecturer (on Contract), Dept. of Philosophy, University of Calicut, Calicut University P.O, Malappuram (Dt) Kerala-673 635. ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to present one prominent scientific approach to consciousness by Bernard J. Baars- the Global workspace Theory (GWT). Global Workspace Theory holds the view that the brain has a fleeting integrative capacity that enables access between functions that are otherwise separate. Consciousness is the pri- mary agent of such a global access function in humans and other mammals. GW holds the view that the role of conscious- ness is to facilitate information exchange among multiple specialized unconscious processes in the brain. Consciousness is a state of global activation in a “workspace”. Somewhat similar idea has been introduced by Jerry Fodor. Fodor has placed greatest emphasis on information encapsulation. But there are some criticisms too. GWT does not answer the hard problem of consciousness. And Dennett doubts whether GWT is a “Cartesian Theatre”. However, Baar’s account of global workspace is a promising scientific approach in explaining consciousness. brain sources; unconscious sensory processing is much The problem of consciousness is not just one problem. Rather more limited. it is an ambiguous term referring to many different Phenome- 2. Consciousness perception, inner speech and visual Im- na. These problems can be divided under two headings hard agery enable working memory functions including ex- and easy problems. -
The Grateful Un-Dead? Philosophical and Social Implications of Mind-Uploading
1 July 23, 2020 The grateful Un-dead? Philosophical and Social Implications of Mind-Uploading Ivan William Kelly Professor Emeritus, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Email address: [email protected] Abstract: The popular belief that our mind either depends on or (in stronger terms) is identical with brain functions and processes, along with the belief that advances in technological in virtual reality and computability will continue, has contributed to the contention that one-day (perhaps this century) it may be possible to transfer one’s mind (or a simulated copy) into another body (physical or virtual). This is called mind-uploading or whole brain emulation. This paper serves as an introduction to the area and some of the major issues that arise from the notion of mind- uploading. The topic of mind/brain uploading is, at present, both a philosophical and scientific minefield. This paper ties together several thoughts on the topic in the popular, philosophical, and scientific literature, and brings up some related issues that might be worth exploring. A challenge is made that uploading a mind from a brain may have intrinsic limitations on what can be uploaded: whatever is uploaded may not be recognizably human, or will be a very limited version. Keywords: mind uploading, brain emulation, mind transfer, virtual reality, robots, android, the mind-body problem, mind transfer, trans-human, 1.Introduction What if (a big if) you actually could upload or transfer your mind into a computer network or a robot? That is, you would now have your mind in a different body or ‘live in’ a virtual reality (or virtual realities).