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Post 126 08/16/2022
Is Consciousness
Everywhere?
Prominent neuroscientist, Kristof Koch, has become an advocate for the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) of Giulio Tononi. They now work together to fill any gaps in the theory that consciousness emerges naturally when information processing systems reach a minimal state of integration (wholeness). Tononi measures the degree of unification in units of phi . . .
Post 121 12/12/2021
Is Free Will
Fake Agency?
An article in Skeptic magazine [v26, no 1 2021] raised several thorny scientific & philosophical issues, including the ontological status of Consciousness and Free Will1. The author proposes to show why such immaterial non-
Post 124 08/23/2020
Cause of
Existence
Modern philosophers tend to distrust Intuition¹, as a hasty & emotional, instead of methodical & rational way of knowing. But Intuition is fundamental, instinct-
Post 122 12/20/2021
FREE WILL
And other popular delusions
The author begins his introduction by asserting that “the overarching problem is free will”. His concern is not so much with the meaning of “will”, but with “what it means to be free”. Before presenting his own solution to the problem though, he gives us a lot of religious and philosophical background. . . .
Post 119 11/29/2021
What is Meta-
Many of the polarized arguments on the Philosophy Forum hinge on the meaning of the technical term “meta-
Post 123 04/11/2022
What is Information?
Claude Shannon labeled the basic element of computer data as "Information". That word had long been associated with various aspects of ideas in the human mind : communication, knowledge, reference, meaning, truth, etc. But his quantified definition of the term focused, not on any particular semantic content, . . . .
Post 125 06/27/2022
Quantum
Weirdness
Phillip Ball introduces his topic by clarifying the murkiness of Quantum Physics : “what has emerged most strongly from this work on the fundamental aspects of quantum theory is that it is not a uncertainty or fuzziness. It is a theory about information.” . . . because information is not a thing that you can point to . . .”
Post 127 10/18/2022
Potential vs Actual
Aristotle's differentiation be-
Post 113 01/08/2021
Aristotle and
Einstein
Edward Feser is a secular Philosopher, not a Theologian. But his worldview seems to be focused through the lens of Catholic theology, and in particular Thomas Aquinas’ interpretation of Aristotelian metaphysics. He is secular in the sense that he accepts modern theories of Natural Evolution and Quantum Mechanics . . . .
Post 114 02/16/2021
Introduction to
Enformationism
The Enformationism hypothesis is proposed as a possible update for the fruitful, but aging, para-
Post 115 03/09/2021
Can I.I.T. Explain Consciousness
In his Scientific American magazine article, science writer John Horgan questions an “am-
Post 126 08/16/2022
Is Consciousness
Everywhere?
Prominent neuroscientist, Kristof Koch, has become an advocate for the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) of Giulio Tononi. They now work together to fill any gaps in the theory that consciousness emerges naturally when information processing systems reach a minimal state of integration (wholeness). Tononi measures the degree of unification in units of phi . . .
Post 121 12/12/2021
Is Free Will
Fake Agency?
An article in Skeptic magazine [v26, no 1 2021] raised several thorny scientific & philosophical issues, including the ontological status of Consciousness and Free Will1. The author proposes to show why such immaterial non-
Post 133 Post 124 08/23/2020
Cause of
Existence
Modern philosophers tend to distrust Intuition¹, as a hasty & emotional, instead of methodical & rational way of knowing. But Intuition is fundamental, instinct-
Post 122 12/20/2021
FREE WILL
And other popular delusions
The author begins his introduction by asserting that “the overarching problem is free will”. His concern is not so much with the meaning of “will”, but with “what it means to be free”. Before presenting his own solution to the problem though, he gives us a lot of religious and philosophical background. . . .
Post 119 11/29/2021
What is Meta-
Many of the polarized arguments on the Philosophy Forum hinge on the meaning of the technical term “meta-
Post 120 11/29/2021
Holism
and
FreeWill
Reductionism vs Holism.
Jan Smuts 1926 book, Holism and Evolution, was a treatise on the philosophy of Western Science, which he saw had veered so far toward a reductive perspective that it couldn't see the forest for the trees. . . .
Post 123 04/11/2022
What is Information?
Claude Shannon labeled the basic element of computer data as "Information". That word had long been associated with various aspects of ideas in the human mind : communication, knowledge, reference, meaning, truth, etc. But his quantified definition of the term focused, not on any particular semantic content, . . . .
Post 125 06/27/2022
Quantum
Weirdness
Phillip Ball introduces his topic by clarifying the murkiness of Quantum Physics : “what has emerged most strongly from this work on the fundamental aspects of quantum theory is that it is not a uncertainty or fuzziness. It is a theory about information.” . . . because information is not a thing that you can point to . . .”
Post 127 10/18/2022
Potential vs Actual
Aristotle's differentiation be-
Post 131 
