Well, in remarks that I'm pretty sure are guaranteed to rile up philosophers, E.O. Wilson, who apparently has a new book out on the meaning of human existence, disses both philosophy and religion, saying that scientists will provide the meaning of of existence. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx26k8LTCdI I can agree with a lot of what Wilson says in … Continue reading E.O. Wilson: Science, not philosophy, will explain the meaning of existence
Tag: Philosophy
Does the Euthyphro dilemma actually prove anything?
I'm not religious. I don't think morality comes from God, gods, or any religious precept. But often, when I see debates on whether or not morality can only come from God or religion, an atheist philosopher will mention the Euthyphro dilemma, state or imply that the question was conclusively handled over 2300 years by this Plato … Continue reading Does the Euthyphro dilemma actually prove anything?
The mind / body dualism of ‘Edge of Tomorrow’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw61gCe2oqI This weekend, I watched the movie, 'Edge of Tomorrow', also known as 'Live. Die. Repeat.' It's the latest in a common motif in science fiction and fantasy, the time loop story, where the hero repeats the same events over and over until they find a way to break out. It's a concept that's been … Continue reading The mind / body dualism of ‘Edge of Tomorrow’
Massimo Pigliucci’s pessimistic view of mind uploading
Massimo Pigliucci wrote a paper on his skepticism of the possibility of mind uploading, the idea that our minds are information which it might be possible someday to copy into a computer virtual reality system or some other type of technology. His paper appears to be one chapter in a broader book, 'Intelligence Unbound: The Future … Continue reading Massimo Pigliucci’s pessimistic view of mind uploading
Philosophy Tech Support
(Click through for the rest, and for a caption explaining the philosophy referenced.) via Philosophy Tech Support - Existential Comics. Does philosophy have a responsibility to be relevant to real world problems? This is a question often asked of science. I think the answer is complicated, because we never know where a real world solution might … Continue reading Philosophy Tech Support
Charlie Stross discusses life lessons at 50
Charlie Stross just turned 50 and put up a post discussing his major life lessons, things he wished he could tell his 15 year old self, which briefly are: Don't die. (Try not to fail at this one as long as you can.) Idiots abound. (And recognize that correcting them is usually not your problem.) … Continue reading Charlie Stross discusses life lessons at 50
Multiverse theories: “meta-cosmology”?
Marianne Freiberger reports on a discussion she had with Bernard Carr on whether or not multiverse theories are science. He has a suggestion for how we should classify these theories. With the possibility for indirect evidence in the future, maybe we shouldn't dismiss the multiverse as mere speculation, especially since it has many features that are … Continue reading Multiverse theories: “meta-cosmology”?
The attention schema theory of consciousness deserves your…attention
Michael Graziano published a brief article in the New York Times on his attention schema theory of consciousness, which a number of my fellow bloggers have linked to and discussed. I'm not sure this article was the clearest description of it that he's given, and I suspect the title biased readers to think his theory is another consciousness-is-an-illusion … Continue reading The attention schema theory of consciousness deserves your…attention
The evolution of the scientific method.
Empiricism, the idea that sensory experience is a source of knowledge, is ancient. People have obviously learned through sensory experience as long as there have been people. Studying the night skies gave ancient humans insight into the flow of the seasons, crucial knowledge as the agricultural revolution kicked into gear. And farming techniques, medicinal practices, food … Continue reading The evolution of the scientific method.
The simulation hypothesis. Is life an illusion?
Seth Shostak takes a look at the simulation hypothesis, the idea that we are in a computer simulated reality: Is Life an Illusion? | Seth Shostak. ...a future historian (or curious teenager) wielding programming skills and access to a honking big computer could construct SimEarth on steroids. They could, for example, run a simulation of 15th century European society to … Continue reading The simulation hypothesis. Is life an illusion?
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