Category Archives: Philosophy of Mind – Consciousness

A nice Philosophy of Mind summary

Posted on December 6, 2017 by Peter Ellerton

    From http://www.jshaw.net/courses/probdocs/H8.pdf

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A Life of Meaning (Reason Not Required) – What is the nature of our relationship with reason?

Posted on September 7, 2016 by Peter Ellerton

If philosophy is to stay relevant, it must bridge the gap between feeling, thought and reason. Few would disagree with two age-old truisms: We should strive to shape our lives with reason, and a central prerequisite for the good life … Continue reading →

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Neuroscience and education: myths and messages

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Peter Ellerton

NATURE REVIEWS | NEUROSCIENCE Abstract: For several decades, myths about the brain — neuromyths — have persisted in schools and colleges, often being used to justify ineffective approaches to teaching. Many of these myths are biased distortions of scientific fact. … Continue reading →

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Why You Don’t Know Your Own Mind

Posted on August 1, 2016 by Peter Ellerton

Alex Rosenburg, The Stone. It is often said that we can never truly know the minds of others, because we can’t “get inside their heads.” Our ability to know our own minds, though, is rarely called into question. It is … Continue reading →

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Artificial Intelligence

Posted on July 29, 2016 by Peter Ellerton

Could AI of the future be not just smarter, but also more conscious than humans are now?  Will they wonder if we are/were truly conscious? Discuss.

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What is the link between language and consciousness?

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Peter Ellerton

“Scientists working on animal cognition often dwell on their desire to talk to the animals. Oddly enough, this particular desire must have passed me by, because I have never felt it. I am not waiting to hear what my animals … Continue reading →

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The value of subjective experience (or not)

Posted on June 21, 2016 by Peter Ellerton

From smbc

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Free will and mobile phones

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Peter Ellerton

Can you prove you have free will?

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Do we live in a simulation?

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Peter Ellerton

  From SMBC

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Who is ‘you’?

Posted on December 13, 2014 by Peter Ellerton

An exploration of what we might mean by ‘me’. First – Identity short film (very good for class discussion) Second   Who am I? – very useful website as well.

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Biased sample? Circular reasoning?

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Peter Ellerton

Discuss.

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The Limits of Imagination

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Peter Ellerton

Discuss  

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Whose brain is it? Consciousness, free will and the brain.

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Peter Ellerton

If ‘I’ change ‘my’ mind?  Then where do ‘I’ fit in?

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Philosophical Zombies

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Peter Ellerton

From the concept by Chalmers.  Could humans exist that are not conscious?  The extract below is from his site. Philosophical zombies It is philosophical zombies that I’m most interested in here, since I’m a philosopher and they raise very interesting … Continue reading →

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Universal intelligence: One test to rule them all

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Peter Ellerton

It’s time to abandon the idea that we are the gold standard of intelligence. Take a test using a more fundamental scale of smarts http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21128296.100-universal-intelligence-one-test-to-rule-them-all.html?full=true&print=true Download Universal intelligence (pdf)

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Peace of Mind: Near-Death Experiences Now Found to Have Scientific Explanations

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Peter Ellerton

Seeing your life pass before you and the light at the end of the tunnel, can be explained by new research on abnormal functioning of dopamine and oxygen flow By Charles Q. Choi Scientific American http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=peace-of-mind-near-death Near-death experiences are often thought of … Continue reading →

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Consciousness – science tackles the self (pdf)

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Peter Ellerton

We know that we are aware of ourselves. But we don’t know how. And we are not even sure why. The answers may lie in the physical processes of consciousness 01 April 1989 by SUSAN BLACKMORE New Scientists Magazine issue … Continue reading →

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Philosophy in Senior Schools

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Peter Ellerton

(From my appearance on ABC Radio National’s ‘Philosopher’s Zone) http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/stories/2007/1911312.htm Philosophy is about asking childlike questions – how do we know the world exists? How do we know it hasn’t just started existing? Why can’t we go back in time? … Continue reading →

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Some important tools of critical thinking

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Peter Ellerton

(from my Ockham’s Razor appearance on the ABC’s Radio National) http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/stories/2010/2975629.htm  Robyn Williams: And now, the bad news. No, don’t run off – this is interesting – even Quite Interesting, as Stephen Fry might say. Here I’ll quote directly from a … Continue reading →

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Brain science and the search for the self

Posted on April 16, 2009 by admin

Nice little overview of how the whole thing started. From New Scientist magazine. Philosophy of mind, consciousness, self. 20 March 2009 by A C Grayling AFTER John Locke published his Essay Concerning Human Understanding in 1690, he sent copies to various … Continue reading →

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