Sean Carroll on his podcast interviewed Lisa Aziz-Zadeh on embodied cognition: Brains are important things; they’re where thinking happens. Or are they? The theory of “embodied cognition” posits that it’s better to think of thinking as something that takes place in the body as a whole, not just in the cells of the brain. In … Continue reading The implications of embodied cognition
Tag: Brain
A qualified recommendation: Consciousness Demystified
A couple of years ago I did a series of posts inspired by Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt's excellent The Ancient Origins of Consciousness, a book on the evolution of animal consciousness. Somewhat building on what I had read in Antonio Damasio's Self Comes to Mind, it was a pivotal point in my exploration of … Continue reading A qualified recommendation: Consciousness Demystified
Is consciousness a thing or a process? Yes.
I came across this tweet by Amanda Gefter: https://twitter.com/AmandaGefter/status/1083749205531942913 William James, the founder of American psychology was an illusionist? I only read the opening portions of the essay, but it appears so. However, even in 1904, illusionism, the belief that consciousness isn't what it seems, was a very nuanced thing: To deny plumply that 'consciousness' … Continue reading Is consciousness a thing or a process? Yes.
Higher order theories of consciousness and metacognition
Some of you know, from various conversations, that over the last year or so I've flirted with the idea that consciousness is metacognition, although I've gradually backed away from it. In humans, we typically define mental activity that we can introspect to be conscious and anything else to be unconscious. But I'm swayed by the … Continue reading Higher order theories of consciousness and metacognition
Is the singularity right around the corner?
You've probably heard the narrative before. At some point, we will invent an artificial intelligence that is more intelligent than we are. The superhuman intelligence will then have the capability to either build an improved version of itself, or engineer upgrades that improve its own intelligence. This will set off a process where the system … Continue reading Is the singularity right around the corner?
Dogs have metacognition, maybe
Last year in a post on panpsychism, I introduced a hierarchy I use to conceptualize the capabilities of systems that we intuitively see as conscious. This isn't a new theory of consciousness or anything, just my own way of making sense of what is an enormously complicated subject. That hierarchy of consciousness was as follows: … Continue reading Dogs have metacognition, maybe
On imagination, feelings, and brain regions
The last post on feelings generated some excellent conversations. In a couple of them, it was pointed out that my description of feelings put a lot of work on the concept of imagination, and that maybe I should expand on that topic a bit. In their excellent book on animal consciousness, The Ancient Origins of … Continue reading On imagination, feelings, and brain regions
The construction of feelings
I've had a number of conversations lately on the subject of feelings, the affective states of having valences about conscious perception, such as fear, pain, joy, hunger, etc. Apparently a lot of people view feelings as a very mysterious phenomenon. While I'll definitely agree that there are a lot of details still to be worked … Continue reading The construction of feelings
The prospects for a scientific understanding of consciousness
Michael Shermer has an article up at Scientific American asking if science will ever understand consciousness, free will, or God. I contend that not only consciousness but also free will and God are mysterian problems—not because we are not yet smart enough to solve them but because they can never be solved, not even in … Continue reading The prospects for a scientific understanding of consciousness
Could a neuroscientist understand a microprocessor? Is that a relevant question?
A while back, Julia Galef on Rationally Speaking interviewed Eric Jonas, one of the authors of a study that attempted to use neuroscience techniques on a simple computer processor. The field of neuroscience has been collecting more and more data, and developing increasingly advanced technological tools in its race to understand how the brain works. … Continue reading Could a neuroscientist understand a microprocessor? Is that a relevant question?
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