The Dissenter #86 Colin McGinn: Types of Minds, Consciousness, Animal Rights
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Dr. Colin McGinn has taught philosophy at institutions of higher learning including University College London, Rutgers University, and Oxford University. He’s the author of over two dozen books including The Character of Mind, Consciousness and Its Objects, and The Making of a Philosopher, and he has also written for the London Review of Books, The New Republic, Wall Street Journal, The New York Review of Books, and other publications.
In this episode, I talk with Dr. McGinn about minds and consciousness. More specifically, about what is a mind; the different types of minds; how to avoid dualism; if the phenomenology of consciousness can be scientifically explained; the continuity of mental capacities between animals; a couple of science fiction proposals, like creating conscious machines, and mind uploading; and animal rights.
Time Links:
00:54 Types of minds
02:16 But, what is a mind?
06:20 Is the mind a single entity?
09:06 Does dualism still make sense?
14:08 The mind of a bat
19:28 Are mental capacities continuous between species?
21:48 The mysteriousness of consciousness
28:48 Does consciousness have several parts?
32:32 Are there degrees of consciousness along the animal kingdom?
34:49 Is language important for consciousness?
40:09 Is it possible to create conscious machines?
44:07 And what about uploading minds to computers?
48:25 Types of minds and animal rights
55:20 Where to follow Dr. McGinn’s work
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