

Philosophy, Mind, and the Limits of Science with Mazviita Chirimuuta
26 snips May 14, 2025
Mazviita Chirimuuta, Associate Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, dives into the complexities of neuroscience and philosophy. She discusses the limitations of scientific understanding of consciousness and critiques the binary perception of science. Chirimuuta also navigates the interplay between science, mathematics, and the divine, urging humility in our methodologies. Plus, she explores the relationship between AI and human creativity, emphasizing that technology should complement rather than replace human expression.
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Limits of Computational Neuroscience
- Neuroscience's computational explanations are effective within science but limited philosophically.
- Mazviita shifted from computational realism to critiquing the assumption that computation fully explains the mind.
Perception as Interaction
- Perception is not just a barrier between us and reality but a way we interact with the world.
- We cannot have unmediated access to reality, fitting a Kantian take on human knowledge.
Recognizing Science's Limits
- Neurophysiologist Emil Du Bois-Reymond argued consciousness is beyond neurophysiology's reach.
- This honesty about scientific limits was scandalous but essential for intellectual integrity.