Category Archives: Philosophy

Is the ultimate nature of reality mental?

Posted on August 15, 2019 by

Philosopher Wilfrid Sellars had a term for the world as it appears, the “manifest image.”  This is the world as we perceive it.  In it, an apple is an apple, something red or green with a certain shape, a range … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , | 84 Comments

Platonism and the non-physical

Posted on July 25, 2019 by

On occasion, I’ve been accused of being closed-minded.  (Shocking, I know.)  Frequently the reason is not seriously considering non-physical propositions, a perception of rigid physicalism.  However, as I’ve noted before, I’m actually not entirely comfortable with the “physicalist” label (or … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 146 Comments

Inflate and explode, or deflate and preserve?

Posted on September 9, 2018 by

Philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel has an interesting post up criticizing the arguments of illusionists, those who have concluded that phenomenal consciousness is an illusion. Here’s a way to deny the existence of things of Type X. Assume that things of Type … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , | 93 Comments

What is knowledge?

Posted on January 15, 2018 by

In the discussion on the last post on measurement, the definition of knowledge came up a few times.  That’s dredged up long standing thoughts I have about knowledge, which I’ve discussed with some of you before, but that I don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , , | 67 Comments

Are there things that are knowable but not measurable?

Posted on January 3, 2018 by

It’s a mantra for many scientists, not to mention many business managers, that if you can’t measure it, it’s not real.  On the other hand, I’ve been told by a lot of people, mostly non-scientists, and occasionally humanistic scholars including philosophers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , , | 93 Comments

What do scientific theories actually tell us about the world?

Posted on February 9, 2017 by

One of the things that’s exciting about learning new things, is that often a new understanding in one area sheds light on what might seem like a completely separate topic.  For me, information about how the brain works appears to have shed … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Science | Tagged , , , , , , , | 76 Comments

Libertarian free will is incoherent, and that’s good for responsibility

Posted on August 29, 2016 by

For a while, I’d considered myself done debating free will, having expressed everything about it I had to say.  However, with this Crash Course video, and in light of the discussion on physicality we had earlier this summer, I realized I do have … Continue reading →

Posted in Mind and AI, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , | 32 Comments

Don’t trust your emotions. They will betray you.

Posted on August 8, 2016 by

I’ve mentioned before that my views have changed dramatically over the years.  But thinking about that the other day, it occurred to me that most of that change happened in a fairly narrow period.  At the beginning of 2004, I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 44 Comments

What would evidence for the non-physical look like? A possible answer.

Posted on June 9, 2016 by

In the last post, I pondered what distinction between the physical and non-physical, noting that I’ve historically resisted the label of “physicalist” or “materialist” maintaining that, if any evidence for the non-physical ever did become available, I’d accept its existence. … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , , , , | 83 Comments

What is physicalism?

Posted on June 6, 2016 by

One label that often gets applied to me is “materialist”, or sometimes “physicalist.”  It’s a label that, while it probably gives an accurate idea of my conception of reality, I’ve generally resisted.  Why?  Because if there were ever any evidence for … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | 78 Comments