What, Why & How do we Know ?
Interesting. Not sure it says much about the religion vs science debate, but it does say a lot about effective styles of interaction. If you go in “taking the piss” and showing your audience no respect, I’m not sure you can expect your audience to show any respect to you or what you might have to … Continue reading “Blackmore Walkout”
Checking out Sue’s web site, I see this contribution passed me by. Article on Comment is Free (UK Guardian) Podcast of debate with Alister McGrath, author of ‘The Dawkins Delusion’. (Bristol Uni & RichardDawkins.net) I have to say the text of the piece posted before the debate seems to have it pretty well right, so I’m going … Continue reading “More Blackmore on The God Delusion”
Brief interview on BBC’s Today programme with Sue Blackmore asked to explain memes (pro), and Mary Midgley asked to respond (con). As usual the disagreement is really just the words “only” and “just”. Of course conscious minds are not “just” copying machines, you do indeed have to understand the context of people’s experience and hearing … Continue reading “Blackmore vs Midgley”
Susan Blackmore, published in the UK Telegraph on Saturday 21st. Wow, I think that’s what you call “full and frank”. Courageous.
Seems I’m obsessed with Sue Blackmore – just re-read all the articles on her web site, again – particularly the mid-life-crisis post-50-years career switch from the paranormal expert to philosophy of mind novice. Such deep material, such human and witty delivery, and painfully open too. Anyway after my fix, I’m reminded of the connection I … Continue reading “Sue is the Drug”
I use memes / memetics as everyday language that fits with everyday social-mediated comms these days. How much #Brexit debate for example is about snappy branding of alternative solutions to the mess we’re in whether they are Unicorns or Norway models? How much smear or rhetorical marketing is involved in alt-naming of just about anything, … Continue reading “Memetics – The Objectification Objection”
A running theme throughout Psybertron is the reality of conscious mind and its consequences in the real world. That’s partly because explantory understanding of our understanding and of our decision-making is my main research focus and partly because – probably not coincidentally – it’s also a prime (but not the only) example where politicised scientific dogma … Continue reading “Altered States of Consciousness”
Had an interesting evening Thursday, listening to Rupert Sheldrake (again) at Theos, the Christian religious think-tank (for the first time), and having the opportunity to question and talk with him and with other Theos members. Also acquired a copy of Nick Spencer’s “Atheists, the Origin of the Species“; more on which later. [Post Note : Full … Continue reading “Atheists, the Origin of the Species #TheosSheldrake @Theosthinktank”