Gregg: Needless to say, for most people, their "philosophy" is superficial and not fundamental. It is something they have adopted as a result of the psycho-technological environment in which their "behaviors and attitudes" have been formed. Socrates taught us that a long time ago. Nowadays, among "philosophers," many of these basic questions are once-again being widely debated -- reflecting the shift to DIGITAL. No, John Horgan isn't one of them (and neither are you.) And, for what its worth, Will Durant wasn't a historian either . . . <g> I was initially invited to speak at the recent "XXIVth World Congress on Philosophy: Learning to be Human" in Beijing but couldn't go. Taking a look at the agenda might be helpful for you to sort out what the *actual* philosophers are talking about today -- particularly the fascinating topic of "post-humanity" (a round-table about which I was invited to join by the NYU group who focuses on this.) https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_Posthumanism&d=DwIDaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=O7dzx_qkMFoNo6kX1hB5wRvqlC7_Fc0kAsDunxh96Tg&s=mqkSX2FHsPirpPWPsFxAcL420q_9-zLR-ADYJslSRzo&e= Whether "confused dualist" or "property quadism" are even relevant in all this is an interesting question (probably not.) What views were thrown-up by ELECTRICITY (the previous paradigm) and which ones will be thrown-up by DIGITAL (since we are "constructed" by technology, not the other way around) now becomes an important one to sort out . . . !! Mark Quoting "Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx" <[log in to unmask]>: > Hi Waldemar, > > Great question regarding the book. Since listening to Will > Durant's The Story of Philosophy, I have become even more convinced > that what we in the academy are missing is an effective way to talk > about mind-body/mind-matter issues. This is the SAME basic issue > that has prevented the field of psychology from being a coherent > discipline. That is, "Mind-Body Problems" = The Problem of Psychology. > > Horgan's book is useful for several reasons. First, the book is > free and easily available on line. Second, it is written in an easy > style that does not require much technical knowledge. Third, it is > written in a manner parallel to the Story of Philosophy, in that it > profiles both scholars and their ideas, a different one in each > chapter--a format I think is helpful and useful. That gives rise to > a fourth reason, namely that it is a broad treatment of the issues. > Fifth, I found that I could just copy and paste the chapters into a > word document and thus engage in running commentary of the chapter > in a word document and share that with others. This will allow for a > much more fine grained analysis of the text and clear exposition > regarding what is going on. > > The hope is to show folks that how Horgan talks about mind-body > is very confused. And the way he talks is the way we talk in > general. So it is a great example of our common social construction > of these issues. As such, Horgan's style should be easily relatable, > and thus allow folks to empathize and "see what he sees." > > Then I can use his style to show that it is his > linguistic/conceptual/preconceived notions about the world that > drives much of his confusion. That is, he has an implicit > metaphysical system that is revealed in how he talks about these > issues. To be direct about it, Horgan is a confused dualist (as are > so many people). In contrast, the ToK is a coherent "property > quadist" view. I will be able to use him as an example of what a > confused dualist language game looks like and why, if you operate > off of that, you will indeed by confused by the mind-body problems. > > However, if you learn to speak ToK/UTUA, the knotty problems that > are all tied up in a ball when you are a confused implicit dualist > become loosened and clarity is achieved. That is not to say there > are no problems left. For example, what I call "the hard-engineering > problem" remains. This refers to the connection/relationship between > neurophysiological mechanical processes and the emergence of > subjective experience that are binded together in our perceptual > field of awareness. I do not have an answer to that problem directly > (although progress is being made). However, that is only one of the > problems that Horgan is all tangled up about. I will show how his > naïve dualism is working against him and how we can do better...much > better. > > Best, > Gregg > > -----Original Message----- > From: tree of knowledge system discussion > <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Waldemar A Schmidt, > PhD, MD > Sent: Sunday, October 7, 2018 9:11 PM > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: A book club invitation to explore mind-body problems > > Gregg: > > I accept your invitation. > May I ask, what led you to choose this particular work? > > Best regards, > > Waldemar > > Waldemar A Schmidt, PhD, MD > (Perseveret et Percipiunt) > Sent from my iPad > >> On Oct 7, 2018, at 9:56 AM, Mark Stahlman <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >> Gregg: >> >> I know John Horgan quite well. He is a pretty standard "hippie" >> who keeps reaching for hallucinogens &c as-if this was still the >> 1960s. Creative writing and all that. >> >> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__blogs.scientificamerican.com_cross-2Dcheck_yes-2Dmake-2Dpsychedelics-2Dlegally-2Davailable-2Dbut-2Ddont-2Dforget-2Dthe-2Drisks_&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=s-R6M6hfOGoi0XNEPzL4ZP_EN3HsB7oqp1rr1qezSjI&s=MVELN_kfJpMKxxN0p73C4ZXWbOKPNW4LWlOcX5QenTg&e= >> >> Alas, that was the old paradigm. He has no interest in the *new* >> one (so I will not be commenting) . . . <g> >> >> Mark >> >> Quoting "Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx" <[log in to unmask]>: >> >>> Hi List, >>> I am inviting folks to join me on a book club conversation. The >>> book is free and on-line. It is John Horgan's Mind Body >>> Problems<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__mindbodyproblems.com_&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=s-R6M6hfOGoi0XNEPzL4ZP_EN3HsB7oqp1rr1qezSjI&s=cLOLF8DF4D-hNinQV0_ulxiDQ8I6DoFv4eGKM_Ky09Y&e=>. I have started reading it and will offer a summary of one chapter each week. The first chapter is Introduction: The Weirdness. <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__mindbodyproblems.com_introduction_&d=DwIBaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=s-R6M6hfOGoi0XNEPzL4ZP_EN3HsB7oqp1rr1qezSjI&s=UYxDdWcxnEXxGa0rZAEGkNh4tcQoaGJjmpQRgZ3EMls&e=> It is not too long, just over 4,000 words. On Friday, I will offer a summary of it and some >>> commentary. >>> >>> The book gives us an opportunity as a group to grapple with the >>> mind-body problem(s) and to engage in conversations about what it >>> is, and how we might understand it going forward. As you will see, >>> Horgan defines the problem very broadly. As such, it is very >>> relevant for a Theory Of Knowledge. And it is also quite relevant >>> for the ToK/UTUA framework. If the ToK/UTUA Framework is valid, it >>> has much to say about the mind-body problems. The nature of the >>> problems look very different. >>> >>> I hope you will join me and chime in with your own thoughts. >>> >>> Best, >>> Gregg >>> >>> ############################ >>> >>> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: >>> write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] >>> or click the following link: >>> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1 >> >> ############################ >> >> To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: >> write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] >> or click the following link: >> http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1 >> > > ############################ > > To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: > write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > or click the following link: > http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1 > > ############################ > > To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: > write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > or click the following link: > http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1 ############################ To unsubscribe from the TOK-SOCIETY-L list: write to: mailto:[log in to unmask] or click the following link: http://listserv.jmu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=TOK-SOCIETY-L&A=1