Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas 80 | Jenann Ismael on Connecting Physics to the World of Experience
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Jan 20, 2020 Jenann Ismael, a Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, dives into the fascinating intersection of physics and human experience. She explores the nature of free will amidst the framework of determinism, asking whether we possess true agency. Ismael discusses the impact of consciousness on decision-making and identity, touching on ethical dilemmas like animal rights. Furthermore, she examines how our understanding of cognition can reshape notions of morality, blending insights from neuroscience and the philosophy of mind.
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Free Will and Physics
- Free will discussions often hinge on definitions, leading to unproductive debates.
- Focus on understanding how a sense of agency fits within a physicalist worldview.
Emergence of Self
- Understand the self as emerging from physical processes, from particles to complex systems.
- Reflexive consciousness, the ability to think about oneself, is key to the self's existence.
Self and World
- Minds devote energy to differentiating information about the self from information about the world.
- This process shapes our understanding of ourselves and our place in the objective environment.
