“Persons, Selves, Souls, and Loops”
Opening Question: “Is the brain my computer, or am I my brain’s press agent?”
2:10 – What is the difference between a person and a human? Reason and Reflection, have and use rights What is the role of the word “I” in the creation of this? Self-knowledge – think of a linguistic category
5:34 – (Roving Philosophical Reporter) What is the psychiatric definition of ‘self’? How is the self consistent in time? How can we have multiple selves?
stability over time despite physical change, defined by a role, we exist in a state of flux.
11:59 – The author is asked ‘What puzzles you most about selfhood’? How does he respond? Where does the computer identity analogy break down. a monastic physics description, but we have a linguistic phenomenon. Subverts the author’s monistic “all is physics
18:00 – What is the purpose of the hurricane analogy? How does it relate to epistemology? Useful for survival, a shortcut for thought. So goes the self.
20:00 – What is a loop? According to the author, how are we loops? How do you feel about being compared to a toilet?a mechanical stimulus loop….our stimulus are conceptual (epistemological categories) how does love change our molecular make up
23:30 – The author revisits hurricanes – Are hurricanes real? How does this relate to identity? Does a hurricane exist? How…certainty by conceptual reinforcement. The molecular process of a hurricane exists whether or not we name it.
31:00 - Why is self-reference such a problem for logic? “I” as a recurrence of patterns based on stimulus. So, in attempt to banish identity based systems because it calls a priori truths into question, it persists.
37:00 – The author begins discussing a “mirage observing a mirage.” What does this mean? Why do we believe in mirages? As a monistic reality, the “I doesn’t exist, but it is a convenient linguistic category for describing experience. It’s almost impossible to explain existence without our “I” or “self” reference point. “We can’t perceive the causality” (scientific language has not caught up with us.) Consider the novel representation of reality and the role of fiction
43:00 – What does the author mean by “the self is a distributed entity?” cognition are loops which are broken down into patterns. If patterns can be repeated, it can be repeated in other people’s brains.
“Persons, Selves, Souls, and Loops”
Opening Question: “Is the brain my computer, or am I my brain’s press agent?”
2:10 – What is the difference between a person and a human? What is the role of the word “I” in the creation of this?
5:34 – (Roving Philosophical Reporter) What is the psychiatric definition of ‘self’? How is the self consistent in time? How can we have multiple selves?
11:59 – The author is asked ‘What puzzles you most about selfhood’? How does he respond? Where does the computer identity analogy break down.
18:00 – What is the purpose of the hurricane analogy? How does it relate to epistemology?
20:00 – What is a loop? According to the author, how are we loops? How do you feel about being compared to a toilet?
23:30 – The author revisits hurricanes – Are hurricanes real? How does this relate to identity?
31:00 - Why is self-reference such a problem for logic?
37:00 – The author begins discussing a “mirage observing a mirage.” What does this mean? Why do we believe in mirages?
43:00 – What does the author mean by “the self is a distributed entity?”