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Love and Philosophy
Living Beyond the Blind Spot with Philosopher Evan Thompson
Jan 1, 2025
Philosopher Evan Thompson, renowned for his insights on embodied cognition, discusses his co-authored work 'The Blind Spot'. He explores how idealized scientific models distort our understanding of reality and the interconnectedness of all living things. The conversation highlights the urgent need for integrating arts and humanities within STEM to navigate ecological crises. Topics include the mind-body connection, the limitations of technology in grasping human experience, and the role of love and personal narratives in the pursuit of knowledge.
01:19:54
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Quick takeaways
- Evan Thompson highlights the 'blind spot' in scientific understanding, emphasizing the disconnect between abstract models and experiential reality in our relationship with nature.
- The podcast addresses a 'meaning crisis' emerging from an overly industrial worldview that neglects lived experiences, urging a reconceptualization of knowledge integration across disciplines.
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Understanding the Blind Spot
The discussion highlights the concept of the 'blind spot' in our understanding of science and nature, emphasizing that while the planet itself may endure through human activity, the ecological crisis represents a crisis for humanity and other species. This blind spot originates from confusing scientific models and abstractions with tangible reality, leading to a lack of awareness about our experiential connection to nature. Philosophers have pointed out this fallacy of misplaced concreteness, where mathematical representations are mistakenly seen as the essence of nature rather than as tools created by human cognition. Addressing this blind spot is crucial, as it tends to obscure the depth of our relationship with nature, which includes subjective human experiences alongside objective facts.
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