Perplexities Of Consciousness

Author : Eric Schwitzgebel
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262295083
Total Pages : 238 pages
Book Rating : 4.86/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Perplexities of Consciousness written by Eric Schwitzgebel and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011-01-28 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A philosopher argues that we know little about our own inner lives. Do you dream in color? If you answer Yes, how can you be sure? Before you recount your vivid memory of a dream featuring all the colors of the rainbow, consider that in the 1950s researchers found that most people reported dreaming in black and white. In the 1960s, when most movies were in color and more people had color television sets, the vast majority of reported dreams contained color. The most likely explanation for this, according to the philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel, is not that exposure to black-and-white media made people misremember their dreams. It is that we simply don't know whether or not we dream in color. In Perplexities of Consciousness, Schwitzgebel examines various aspects of inner life (dreams, mental imagery, emotions, and other subjective phenomena) and argues that we know very little about our stream of conscious experience. Drawing broadly from historical and recent philosophy and psychology to examine such topics as visual perspective, and the unreliability of introspection, Schwitzgebel finds us singularly inept in our judgments about conscious experience.

Author : Eric Schwitzgebel
Publisher : MIT Press (MA)
ISBN 13 : 9780262014908
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.04/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Perplexities of Consciousness written by Eric Schwitzgebel and published by MIT Press (MA). This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A philosopher arguesthat we know little about our own inner lives.

Author : Eric Schwitzgebel
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262355361
Total Pages : 381 pages
Book Rating : 4.60/5 ( download)

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Download or read book A Theory of Jerks and Other Philosophical Misadventures written by Eric Schwitzgebel and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-11-05 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of quirky, entertaining, and reader-friendly short pieces on philosophical topics that range from a theory of jerks to the ethics of ethicists. Have you ever wondered about why some people are jerks? Asked whether your driverless car should kill you so that others may live? Found a robot adorable? Considered the ethics of professional ethicists? Reflected on the philosophy of hair? In this engaging, entertaining, and enlightening book, Eric Schwitzgebel turns a philosopher's eye on these and other burning questions. In a series of quirky and accessible short pieces that cover a mind-boggling variety of philosophical topics, Schwitzgebel offers incisive takes on matters both small (the consciousness of garden snails) and large (time, space, and causation). A common theme might be the ragged edge of the human intellect, where moral or philosophical reflection begins to turn against itself, lost among doubts and improbable conclusions. The history of philosophy is humbling when we see how badly wrong previous thinkers have been, despite their intellectual skills and confidence. (See, for example, “Kant on Killing Bastards, Masturbation, Organ Donation, Homosexuality, Tyrants, Wives, and Servants.”) Some of the texts resist thematic categorization—thoughts on the philosophical implications of dreidels, the diminishing offensiveness of the most profane profanity, and fatherly optimism—but are no less interesting. Schwitzgebel has selected these pieces from the more than one thousand that have appeared since 2006 in various publications and on his popular blog, The Splintered Mind, revising and updating them for this book. Philosophy has never been this much fun.

Author : Russell Hurlburt
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 0262516497
Total Pages : 333 pages
Book Rating : 4.95/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Describing Inner Experience? written by Russell Hurlburt and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2011-08-19 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A psychologist and a philosopher with opposing viewpoints discuss the extent to which it is possible to report accurately on our own conscious experience, considering both the reliability of introspection in general and the particular self-reported inner experiences of "Melanie," a subject interviewed using the Descriptive Experience Sampling method. Can conscious experience be described accurately? Can we give reliable accounts of our sensory experiences and pains, our inner speech and imagery, our felt emotions? The question is central not only to our humanistic understanding of who we are but also to the burgeoning scientific field of consciousness studies. The two authors of Describing Inner Experience disagree on the answer: Russell Hurlburt, a psychologist, argues that improved methods of introspective reporting make accurate accounts of inner experience possible; Eric Schwitzgebel, a philosopher, believes that any introspective reporting is inevitably prone to error. In this book the two discuss to what extent it is possible to describe our inner experience accurately. Hurlburt and Schwitzgebel recruited a subject, "Melanie," to report on her conscious experience using Hurlburt's Descriptive Experience Sampling method (in which the subject is cued by random beeps to describe her conscious experience). The heart of the book is Melanie's accounts, Hurlburt and Schwitzgebel's interviews with her, and their subsequent discussions while studying the transcripts of the interviews. In this way the authors' dispute about the general reliability of introspective reporting is steadily tempered by specific debates about the extent to which Melanie's particular reports are believable. Transcripts and audio files of the interviews will be available on the MIT Press website. Describing Inner Experience? is not so much a debate as it is a collaboration, with each author seeking to refine his position and to replace partisanship with balanced critical judgment. The result is an illumination of major issues in the study of consciousness—from two sides at once.

Author : Susan Schneider
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691216746
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.44/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Artificial You written by Susan Schneider and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-04-13 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Humans may not be Earth's most intelligent beings for much longer: the world champions of chess, Go, and Jeopardy! are now all AIs. Given the rapid pace of progress in AI, many predict that it could advance to human-level intelligence within the next several decades. From there, it could quickly outpace human intelligence. What do these developments mean for the future of the mind? In Artificial You, Susan Schneider says that it is inevitable that AI will take intelligence in new directions, but urges that it is up to us to carve out a sensible path forward. As AI technology turns inward, reshaping the brain, as well as outward, potentially creating machine minds, it is crucial to beware. Homo sapiens, as mind designers, will be playing with "tools" they do not understand how to use: the self, the mind, and consciousness. Schneider argues that an insufficient grasp of the nature of these entities could undermine the use of AI and brain enhancement technology, bringing about the demise or suffering of conscious beings. To flourish, we must grasp the philosophical issues lying beneath the algorithms. At the heart of her exploration is a sober-minded discussion of what AI can truly achieve: Can robots really be conscious? Can we merge with AI, as tech leaders like Elon Musk and Ray Kurzweil suggest? Is the mind just a program? Examining these thorny issues, Schneider proposes ways we can test for machine consciousness, questions whether consciousness is an unavoidable byproduct of sophisticated intelligence, and considers the overall dangers of creating machine minds."--Provided by publisher.

Author : Maureen Eckert
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 9780742550636
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.3X/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Theories of Mind written by Maureen Eckert and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2006 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Suitable for introductory classes focusing on philosophy of mind, this work includes readings from primary sources. It focuses on various examples and counter-examples, and meets the needs of instructors concerned with assigning primary source material that can serve as a foundation for more advanced studies in philosophy.

Author : Shaun Gallagher
Publisher : Northwestern University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780810115828
Total Pages : 260 pages
Book Rating : 4.24/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Inordinance of Time written by Shaun Gallagher and published by Northwestern University Press. This book was released on 1998 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Inordinance of Time develops an account of the experience of time at the intersection of three approaches: phenomenology, cognitive science, and post-structuralism. Using insights developed in both the phenomenological and cognitive traditions Gallagher explores the inadequacies of the existing models, the limitations imposed by introspective reflection, concepts of intentionality and embodied existence, and the extra-intentional processes that govern the operations of consciousness and memory.

Author : Amit Goswami
Publisher : Hampton Roads Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1612833241
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.48/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Physics of the Soul written by Amit Goswami and published by Hampton Roads Publishing. This book was released on 2013-12-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Dr. Amit Goswami is one of the most brilliant minds in the world of science. His insights into the relationship between physics and consciousness have deeply influenced by understanding, and I am deeply grateful to him. Physics of the Soul is both challenging and brilliant." —Deepak Chopra Quantum Physics and Spirituality Made Simple At last, science and the soul shake hands. Writing in a style that is both lucid and charming, mischievous and profound, Dr. Amit Goswami uses the language and concepts of quantum physics to explore and scientifically prove metaphysical theories of reincarnation and immortality. In Physics of the Soul, Goswami helps readers understand the perplexities of the quantum physics model of reality and the perennial beliefs of spiritual and religious traditions. He shows how they are not only compatible but also provide essential support for each other. The result is a deeply broadened, exciting, and enriched worldview that integrates mind and spirit into science.

Author : David J. Chalmers
Publisher : Oxford Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 9780195117899
Total Pages : 436 pages
Book Rating : 4.91/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Conscious Mind written by David J. Chalmers and published by Oxford Paperbacks. This book was released on 1997 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Writing in a rigorous, thought-provoking style, the author takes us on a far-reaching tour through the philosophical ramifications of consciousness, offering provocative insights into the relationship between mind and brain.

Author : Anthony T. Kronman
Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300224915
Total Pages : 1174 pages
Book Rating : 4.17/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Confessions of a Born-Again Pagan written by Anthony T. Kronman and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2016-10-28 with total page 1174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this passionate and searching book, Anthony Kronman offers a third way—beyond atheism and religion—to the God of the modern world We live in an age of disenchantment. The number of self-professed “atheists” continues to grow. Yet many still feel an intense spiritual longing for a connection to what Aristotle called the “eternal and divine.” For those who do, but demand a God that is compatible with their modern ideals, a new theology is required. This is what Anthony Kronman offers here, in a book that leads its readers away from the inscrutable Creator of the Abrahamic religions toward a God whose inexhaustible and everlasting presence is that of the world itself. Kronman defends an ancient conception of God, deepened and transformed by Christian belief—the born-again paganism on which modern science, art, and politics all vitally depend. Brilliantly surveying centuries of Western thought—from Plato to Augustine, Aquinas, and Kant, from Spinoza to Nietzsche, Darwin, and Freud—Kronman recovers and reclaims the God we need today.