Sorry
about flogging this dead horse again.
Donald
Hoffman keeps on attempting to distance himself from those New
Agers who have very similar views on
consciousness and "reality". How does he do that? By
using the words "precise mathematical model"... again and
again and again.
For
example, Hoffman claims that he offers us a "precise
mathematical model of agents having subjective experiences". Yet
he doesn't explain that mathematical model. And neither does he
explain what he means by "mathematical model" (or give any
examples) in all the other cases he mentions them. Instead, he simply
keeps on using the words "precise mathematical model".
Hoffman
seems to believe that many philosophers are (still) Identity
Theorists (in the Old Style, circa the 1950s). I would say that there
are about one or two who hold that position. (I'm being rhetorical
here.) I even doubt that there are that many neuroscientists who are
(strict) Identity Theorists; though some anti-physicalists
pretend that all neuroscientists are. (Hoffman doesn't at all
tackle the existence of elminitivists.)
Hoffman's
knowledge of philosophy is very poor. His philosophising is poorer
still. That doesn't matter - he's a scientist (i.e., a cognitive
scientist/cognitive psychologist). However, he's a scientist who not
only repeatedly uses philosophical terms: he's also a scientist who's
offering us a thoroughly philosophical position on
consciousness and reality.
No comments:
Post a Comment