What, Why & How do we Know ?
I’ve been thinking of something positive to say about Antonio Damasio’s Somatic Marker Theory since finishing “Descartes’ Error”. For anyone who believes … the common-sense view of decison-making is a logical sequence of weighing up all available options objectively. the common-sense view of mind and body involves understanding the “brain” distinct from the “body proper”. … Continue reading “Somatic Markers”
Only one post in three weeks. Mentioned I’d enjoyed a weekend in Austin, TX, then spent the whole of the following week in Vegas (well Henderson, NV actually) at a conference – worst place on the planet IMHO, anyway … Spent one day in New York on the trip home. My first, so I just … Continue reading “Quick Round Up”
Almost a week overdue this post, since last Friday I travelled early Saturday to a conference and been just too busy and stressed to blog (or even read any private e-mail). Anyway, mentioned Tommy Womack and Will Kimbrough before and several people knowing I was a fan of Tommy suggested I should see another ex-cohort … Continue reading “Todd Snider”
John Stuart Mill of his own free will, On half a pint of shandy was particulary ill. Will. The Pythons’ song memeing itself in my brain the last day or so, was prompted by listening to the BBC’s “In Our Time” this last Thursday. Anthony Grayling, Janet Radcliffe Williams, and Alan Ryan discussing the life … Continue reading “Of His Own Free Will”
… airport … Still reading Sue Blackmore’s Introduction to Consciousness – gets better all the time. So matter of fact, easy and witty. Just done the chapters on “alternate” states of mind – inlcuding drug induced (again) – she quotes James Austin on Zen parallel’s – but I love the down to earth “whilst stoned”, … Continue reading “… and Sydney …”
As you may have noticed, I’m reading my way through a number books by neurosurgeons and brain scientists, as part of reviewing state of the art understanding of “perception”. Recently I read Edeleman, Zeman and Austin’s books, and more recently started Oliver Sacks “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat”, full of intriguing … Continue reading “It’s A Funny Old Brain”
I’m still working my way through Dr James Austin’s “Zen and the Brain”, and I’ve reached a section on anesthesia and other consciousness altering chemical effects. Actually, I took a break from Dr Austin, to read Voltaire’s Candide – short and sweet – humorous Swiftian-style satire on the “best of all possible worlds” view that … Continue reading “Quantum Consciousness”
In preparation for following up all the neuroscience pointers to the existence of pre-cognitive “qualia” being processed in the brain (at least I think that’s what’s being pointed at – I may be misunderstanding something) I was updating my link to David Chalmers’ Univeristy of Arizona site, and the expected upcoming consciousness conference, when I … Continue reading “Chalmers and Qualia”