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Cartesian Theatre
The Cartesian theater is a term coined by philosopher and cognitive scientist Daniel Dennett to critique a persistent flaw in theories of mind, introduced in his 1991 book ''Consciousness Explained''. It mockingly describes the idea of consciousness as a centralized "stage" in the brain where perceptions are presented to an internal observer. Dennett ties this to Cartesian materialism, which he considers to be the often unacknowledged residue of René Descartes’ dualism in modern materialist views. This model implies an infinite regress, as each observer would require another to perceive it, a problem Dennett argues misrepresents how consciousness actually emerges. The phrase echoes earlier skepticism from Dennett’s teacher, Gilbert Ryle, who in ''The Concept of Mind'' (1949) similarly derided Cartesian dualism’s depiction of the mind as a "private theater" or "second theater." Overview Descartes originally claimed that consciousness requires an immaterial soul, which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homunculus Argument
The homunculus argument is an informal fallacy whereby a concept is explained in terms of the concept itself, recursively, without first defining or explaining the original concept. This fallacy arises most commonly in the theory of vision. One may explain human vision by noting that light from the outside world forms an image on the retinas in the eyes and something (or someone) in the brain looks at these images as if they are images on a movie screen (this theory of vision is sometimes termed the theory of the Cartesian theater: it is most associated, nowadays, with the psychologist David Marr). The question arises as to the nature of this internal viewer. The assumption here is that there is a "little man" or "homunculus" inside the brain "looking at" the movie. The reason why this is a fallacy may be understood by asking how the homunculus "sees" the internal movie. The answer is that there is another homunculus inside the first homunculus's "head" or "brain" looking at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arguments In Philosophy Of Mind
An argument is a series of sentences, statements, or propositions some of which are called premises and one is the conclusion. The purpose of an argument is to give reasons for one's conclusion via justification, explanation, and/or persuasion. Arguments are intended to determine or show the degree of truth or acceptability of another statement called a conclusion. The process of crafting or delivering arguments, argumentation, can be studied from three main perspectives: the logical, the dialectical and the rhetorical perspective. In logic, an argument is usually expressed not in natural language but in a symbolic formal language, and it can be defined as any group of propositions of which one is claimed to follow from the others through deductively valid inferences that preserve truth from the premises to the conclusion. This logical perspective on argument is relevant for scientific fields such as mathematics and computer science. Logic is the study of the forms of reason ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertiginous Question
Benj Hellie's vertiginous question asks why, of all the subjects of experience out there, ''this'' one—the one corresponding to the human being referred to as Benj Hellie—is the one whose experiences are ''lived''? (The reader is supposed to substitute their own case for Hellie's.) In other words: Why am I me and not someone else? A simple response is that this question reduces to "Why are Hellie's experiences lived from Hellie's perspective," which is trivial to answer. However, Hellie argues, through a parable, that this response leaves something out. His parable describes two situations, one reflecting a broad global ''constellation'' view of the world and everyone's phenomenal features, and one describing an ''embedded'' view from the perspective of a single subject. The former seems to align better with the simple response above, but the latter seems to be a better description of consciousness. Overview Philosophers have used various different terminology to describe the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turtles All The Way Down
"Turtles all the way down" is an expression of the problem of infinite regress. The saying alludes to the mythological idea of a World Turtle that supports a flat Earth on its back. It suggests that this turtle rests on the back of an even larger turtle, which itself is part of a column of increasingly larger turtles that continues indefinitely. The exact origin of the phrase is uncertain. In the form "rocks all the way down", the saying appears as early as 1838. References to the saying's mythological antecedents, the World Turtle and its counterpart the World Elephant, were made by a number of authors in the 17th and 18th centuries. The expression has been used to illustrate problems such as the regress argument in epistemology. History Background in Hindu mythology Early variants of the saying do not always have explicit references to infinite regression (i.e., the phrase "all the way down"). They often reference stories featuring a World Elephant, World Turtle, o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purusha
''Purusha'' (, ʊɾʊʂᵊ ) is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic being or self, awareness, and universal principle.Karl Potter, Presuppositions of India’s Philosophies, Motilal Banarsidass, , pp 105–109 In early Vedas, ''Purusha'' was a cosmic being whose sacrifice by the gods created all life. This was one of many creation myths discussed in the Vedas. In the Upanishads, the ''Purusha'' concept refers to the abstract essence of the Self, Spirit and the Universal Principle that is eternal, indestructible, without form, and all-pervasive. In Samkhya philosophy, ''Purusha'' is the plural immobile cosmic principle, pure consciousness, unattached and unrelated to anything, which is "nonactive, unchanging, eternal, and pure". ''Purusha'' uniting with '' Prakṛti'' (matter) gives rise to life. In Kashmir Shaivism, ''Purusha'' is enveloped in five sheaths of time (''kā ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Personal Horizon
Personal horizon is a concept developed by J. J. Valberg in his book ''Dream, Death and the Self.'' He attempts to bring out his subject-matter by considering the dream hypothesis – what if ''this'' were a dream? In Valberg's view, an undetermined horizon would necessarily be internalised (a.k.a. subconscious) if ''this'' were all a dream. This leads to "horizonal" conceptions of consciousness, mind, experience, life, the self, etc. Valberg subsequently considers death, and argues that when the meaning of death strikes us in the right way, it presents us with the prospect of nothingness – not there being nothing ''for me'', but nothing ''period''. This corresponds to one's personal horizon being the ''pre-eminent'' one, corresponding to a weak version of solipsism (arguably closely related to Hare's egocentric presentism). Valberg points out the difficulty of reconciling this with his commitment to the view that he shares the world with metaphysical equals; he continues by re-e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Numskulls
''The Numskulls'' is a comic strip in ''The Beano'', and previously in ''The Beezer'' and ''The Dandy'' – UK comics owned by D.C Thomson. The strip is about a team of tiny human-like technicians who live inside the heads of various people, running and maintaining their bodies and minds. It first appeared in ''The Beezer'' from 1962 until 1979, drawn by Malcolm Judge. The Numskulls are still going and featured weekly in the popular British comic The Beano. History The strip first appeared in ''The Beezer'' in 1962 and was drawn by Malcolm Judge. In this version, they lived inside a man's head rather than a boy's head. The man was never named, but the Numskulls referred to him as "our Man". There were six Numskulls during this time. The 'Mouth Department' was home to two Numskulls, named Alf and Fred. Luggy (Radar) looked a lot like Cruncher, Snitch looked like Cruncher as well except Snitch wore orange, Brainy had no glasses and had no hair apart from around his ears and wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Münchhausen Trilemma
In epistemology, the Münchhausen trilemma is a thought experiment intended to demonstrate the theoretical impossibility of proving any truth, even in the fields of logic and mathematics, without appealing to accepted assumptions. If it is asked how any given proposition is known to be true, proof in support of that proposition may be provided. Yet that same question can be asked of that supporting proof and any subsequent supporting proof. The Münchhausen trilemma is that there are only three ways of completing a proof: * The circular argument, in which the proof of some proposition presupposes the truth of that very proposition * The regressive argument, in which each proof requires a further proof, ''ad infinitum'' * The dogmatic argument, which rests on accepted precepts which are merely asserted rather than defended The trilemma, then, is having to choose one of three equally unsatisfying options. Name The name ''Münchhausen-Trilemma'' was coined by the German philo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inside Out (2015 Film)
''Inside Out'' is a 2015 American animated coming-of-age film directed by Pete Docter from a screenplay he co-wrote with Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley. Produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars the voices of Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Kaitlyn Dias, Diane Lane, and Kyle MacLachlan. ''Inside Out'' follows the inner workings of the mind of Riley, a young girl who adapts to her family's relocation as five personified emotions administer her thoughts and actions. Docter conceived ''Inside Out'' in October 2009 after observing changes in his daughter's personality as she grew older. The project was subsequently green-lit, and Docter and co-director Ronnie del Carmen developed the story, while consulting psychologists and neuroscientists in an effort to accurately portray the mind. Development took five-and-a-half years on a budget of approximately $175million. Significant changes t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Global Workspace Theory
Global workspace theory (GWT) is a framework for thinking about consciousness introduced in 1988, by cognitive scientist Bernard Baars. It was developed to qualitatively explain a large set of matched pairs of conscious and unconscious processes. GWT has been influential in modeling consciousness and higher-order cognition as emerging from competition and integrated flows of information across widespread, parallel neural processes. Bernard Baars derived inspiration for the theory as the cognitive analog of the blackboard system of early artificial intelligence system architectures, where independent programs shared information. Global workspace theory is one of the leading theories of consciousness. While aspects of GWT are matters of debate, it remains a focus of current research, including brain interpretations and computational simulations. Theater metaphor GWT uses the metaphor of a theater (structure), theater, with conscious thought being like material illuminated on t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Circular Reasoning
Circular reasoning (, "circle in proving"; also known as circular logic) is a fallacy, logical fallacy in which the reasoner begins with what they are trying to end with. Circular reasoning is not a formal logical fallacy, but a pragmatic defect in an argument whereby the premises are just as much in need of proof or evidence as the conclusion. As a consequence, the argument becomes a matter of faith and fails to persuade those who do not already accept it. Other ways to express this are that there is no reason to accept the premises unless one already believes the conclusion, or that the premises provide no independent ground or evidence for the conclusion. Circular reasoning is closely related to begging the question, and in modern usage the two generally refer to the same thing. Circular reasoning is often of the form: "A is true because B is true; B is true because A is true." Circularity can be difficult to detect if it involves a longer chain of propositions. An example of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
