Indyplanets / tags / philosophy

Tagged with “philosophy” (9)

1. Tom Clark - Scientific Naturalism and the Illusion of Free Will

   Tom Clark is director of the non-profit Center for Naturalism and author of Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and Its Uses. He writes on science, free will, consciousness, addiction and other topics, and maintains Naturalism.org, an extensive resource on worldview naturalism. He is also moderator for the monthly philosophy café at Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, MA.

   In this interview with D.J. Grothe, Tom Clark discusses the implications of a thorough-going scientific naturalism for the concepts of the self and of free will. He contrasts "contra-causal free will" with kinds of political or social freedom, and argues that the former is a vestige of outmoded religious or dualistic thinking. He talks about compatibilism, and how he can be a skeptic of free will while also prizing personal freedom, how determinism can be compatible with certain kinds of free will. He explores what these implications of scientific naturalism might actually mean for criminal justice, and how rejecting concepts of free-will may empower society to be more humanistic and to solve social ills more effectively. And he talks about the growth of skepticism about free will, both in the academic scientific communities and in the skeptic and freethought world.

   download

   Tagged with freethought freewill science naturalism philosophy book:author=tom clark tom clark

   —Huffduffed by Indyplanets 7 months ago

2. David Koepsell - Who Owns You?

   David Koepsell is an author, philosopher, and attorney whose recent research focuses on the nexus of science, technology, ethics, and public policy. He is Assistant Professor, Philosophy Section, Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management at the Technology University of Delft, in The Netherlands, and Senior Fellow, 3TU Centre for Ethics and Technology, The Netherlands. He is also the author of The Ontology of Cyberspace: Philosophy, Law, and the Future of Intellectual Property, as well as numerous scholarly articles on law, philosophy, science, and ethics. His latest book is Who Owns You? The Corporate Gold Rush to Patent Your Genes.

   from: http://www.pointofinquiry.org/david_koepsell_who_owns_you/

   download

   Tagged with biology genome genes philosophy patents david koepsell book:author=david koepsell

   —Huffduffed by Indyplanets 9 months ago

3. Dacher Keltner - Born to Be Good

   http://www.pointofinquiry.org/dacher_keltner_born_to_be_good/

   Dacher Keltner is professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, director of the Greater Good Science Center, and coeditor of Greater Good magazine. His research focuses on the prosocial emotions, such as love, sympathy and gratitude, and processes such as teasing and flirtation that enhance bonds. He has conducted empirical studies in three areas of inquiry: the determinants and effects of power, hierarchy and social class; the morality of everyday life, and how we negotiate moral truths in teasing, gossip, and other reputational matters; and the biological and evolutionary basis of the benevolent affects, including compassion, awe, love, gratitude, and laughter and modesty. His new book is Born to Be Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life.

   In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Dacher Keltner explores the evolutionary origins of human goodness, challenging the view that humans are hardwired to pursue self-interest and to compete. Based on his studies of human emotion, he argues instead that survival is not a matter of who is the fittest, but perhaps who is the kindest — that people may have compassion built into their brains, nervous systems, and genes. He talks about the influence of Charles Darwin on his work studying human emotions. He elaborates on Darwin’s position that sympathy is our strongest evolved instinct, and what everyday behaviors such as smiling, shrugging, and hand-shakes tell us about the conditions of our deep evolution as primates. He talks about how he is taking the Darwinian approach of looking at moment by moment expressions of emotion and asking how these emotions shape a meaningful life. He explains why he looks to science, as well as to secular Eastern philosophy such as Confucianism, for answers about a meaningful life, rather than to Western religions. He describes his concept of the Jen ratio, and how it relates to the neuroscience of happiness. And he explains what the scientific study of positive emotions and activities such as smiling, laughter, teasing, touching, love, gratitude and awe may suggest about happy marriages, well-adapted children, and healthy communities.

   download

   Tagged with psychology philosophy dacher keltner evolution biology book:author=dacher keltner

   —Huffduffed by Indyplanets 10 months ago

4. Eric Maisel - The Atheist’s Way

   http://www.pointofinquiry.org/eric_maisel_-_the_atheists_way/

   Eric Maisel, PhD, is the author of more than thirty works of fiction and nonfiction. His nonfiction titles include Coaching the Artist Within, Fearless Creating, The Van Gogh Blues, The Creativity Book, Performance Anxiety, Ten Zen Seconds, A Writer’s San Francisco, and A Writer’s Paris. A columnist for Art Calendar magazine, Maisel is a creativity coach and creativity coach trainer who presents keynote addresses and workshops nationally and internationally. His new book is The Atheist’s Way: Living Well Without Gods.

   In this conversation with D.J. Grothe, Eric Maisel addresses atheists who don’t always find it easy to live as atheists, as well as religious believers who have doubts. He describes how the atheistic scientific worldview offers more advantages than the religious perspective. He encourages an understanding of the "tradition of atheism," and explains how to derive inspiration from it. He talks about how new atheists may cope with the loss of their church communities, even when they satisfy important human needs. He details the "main problem" for atheists, which he argues is making meaning in an indifferent universe. He talks about the importance of the atheist actively self-creating, being the hero of her own story, defending a radical individualism. He talks about existential depression that atheists may experience, and ways to respond to this nihilism and ultimate meaninglessness in the universe. And he defends the position that each atheist should be an "active moral philosopher," and "make his own ethics."

   download

   Tagged with eric maisel atheism ethics philosophy book:author=eric maisel

   —Huffduffed by Indyplanets 11 months ago

5. Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?

   Episode 53 of the Brain Science Podcast is a discussion of Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will by Nancey Murphy and Warren S. Brown. This book challenges the widespread fear that neuroscience is revealing an explanation of the human mind that concludes that moral responsibility and free will are illusions created by our brains. Instead the authors argue that the problem is the assumption that a physicalist/materialistic model of the mind must also be reductionist (a viewpoint that all causes are bottom-up). In this podcast I discuss their arguments against causal reductionism and for a dynamic systems model. We also discuss why we need to avoid brain-body dualism and recognize that our mind is more than just what our brain does. The key to preserving our intuitive sense of our selves as free agents capable of reason, moral responsibility, and free will is that the dynamic systems approach allows top-down causation, without resorting to any supernatural causes or breaking any of the know laws of the physical universe. This is a complex topic, but I present a concise overview of the book’s key ideas.

   http://docartemis.com/brainsciencepodcast/2009/01/17/53-freewill/

   download

   Tagged with brain science neurobiology morals free will philosophy nancy murphy warren s. brown neuroscience ginger campbell

   —Huffduffed by Indyplanets one year ago

6. Daniel Dennett: Thoughts on Consciousness

   July 23 2007 - Susan Blackmore interviews Daniel Dennett and brings up the fundamentals of the conscious debate.

   download

   Tagged with philosophy daniel dennett consciousness evolution biology soul

   —Huffduffed by Indyplanets one year ago

7. Sam Harris - Fair Game

   January 2 2008 - Sam Harris talks about the neuroscience of belief.

   download

   Tagged with sam harris neuroscience religion belief science philosophy

   —Huffduffed by Indyplanets one year ago

8. Kant - Critique of Pure Reason

   September 10 2007 - Nigel Warburton reads from his book "Philosophy: The Classics"

   download

   Tagged with kant philosophy reason

   —Huffduffed by Indyplanets one year ago

9. Jennifer Michael Hecht - The Happiness Myth

   May 25 2007 - Jennifer talks with D.J. Grothe about the history of the idea of happiness.

   download

   Tagged with happiness psychology history philosophy drugs shopping culture

   —Huffduffed by Indyplanets one year ago