What, Why & How do we Know ?
Made a start on my pile of Dennett original reading. Having realised recently I’m practically a pan-Darwinist, I thought I’d start on “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea”. Skimmed it first, and realised I feel I practically know it already; so many of his chapters and witty headings having been quoted by others since 1995. The respect Dennett … Continue reading “The Socratic Dennett – Onward and Upward”
Following on from Sue Blackmore’s works, I have at last ordered the Dan Dennett materials so I can read him in the original. Also ordered David Chalmers book – I guess I need to read that too, even if it seems I disagree with him on Qualia. (What I forgot to order but will do … Continue reading “Reading on – Dan Dennett et al”
Rorty and Dennett on Knowledge Board aggregator. Interesting opinions about Rorty and Dennett in connection with Darwinian Evolution, Post-Modernism and Nietzsche amongst other things, from Paul Kelly’s blog – “as we know it”. And here was I thinking I was the only one following this philosophical line of investigation in Knowledge Management blogging. I get … Continue reading “Rorty and Dennett on Knowledge Board aggregator”
I keep noticing and thought I’d share that several things (meaninglessly) coincided in 1991. Robert Pirsig published his second book “Lila” in 1991 Dan Dennett published his “Consciousness Explained” in 1991 I completed and was awarded my Masters Degree in 1991 None of us knew each other’s work then, and there’s been huge convergence of … Continue reading “1991 and all that”
Anil Seth’s Faraday Lecture has generated a fair bit of chat. I was initially a bit too unimpressed, not enough originality – probably turned off previously by his use of “hallucination”. In fact he is synthesising many of the same sources I am. Nothing new under the sun again (from my perspective). The notes below … Continue reading “Seth is OK”
Evolutionary psychology just is what happens to us. “Evolutionary Psychology” as a self-identified political “ought” interpretation of evolutionary reality and the political reaction to brand it pejoratively as “EvoPsych” are just that – identitarian political movements, not to be confused with reality. I said as much just in the title of the first long piece … Continue reading “Evolutionary Psychology – Again?”
Whichever word we choose (*1) – synergy or emergence – to represent systematic parts (internal and/or external) interacting to create “more than the sum of the parts” (*2), what really matters is that we have an explanation and understanding of how IT happens (*3). How synergy leads to emergence of entirely new entities and behaviours, … Continue reading “Synergy or Emergence?”
For me, for decades, the idea that (even scientific) truths always have a political dimension has been central to my epistemic agenda. Not that science was my specific target, more the general orthodoxy that logically-positive objective-determinism presumes to fully explain the truths of real-world causation. And I’ve said so from my perspective as a science-educated … Continue reading “Wokeism and Critical Theory”