Ep. 232 - The Philosophy of Mind vs. the Science of Consciousness w/Dr. Henry Taylor

May 25, 2023

Dr. Henry Taylor, a consciousness scholar from the University of Birmingham, dives deep into the philosophy of mind and consciousness. He navigates the intricate relationship between consciousness and personal identity while addressing ethical dilemmas posed by AI advancements. The conversation touches on historical philosophical perspectives and contemporary scientific debates, exploring how consciousness might be understood better through a blend of both fields. Taylor also reflects on the implications of synthetic biology and the ethical responsibilities tied to creating conscious beings.

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Intro

00:00 • 3min

From Pets to Philosophy: A Journey of Curiosity

03:11 • 2min

The Complexity of Consciousness and AI

05:17 • 16min

Navigating Consciousness and Identity

20:58 • 13min

Exploring the Depths of Consciousness

33:34 • 20min

Exploring Consciousness: Science Meets Philosophy

53:58 • 18min

Philosophy, AI, and Consciousness

01:11:39 • 6min

Understanding Natural Kinds through Medical Analogies

01:17:41 • 4min

Distinguishing Natural Kinds from Functional Concepts

01:22:02 • 2min

Philosophical Implications of Synthetic Biology

01:24:14 • 3min

Exploring Consciousness through Natural Kinds

01:26:50 • 26min

Ethics of Synthetic Consciousness

01:52:57 • 4min

In episode 232 of the Parker's Pensées Podcast, I'm joined by Dr. Henry Taylor of the University of Birmingham to discuss his new paper "Consciousness as a Natural Kind and the Methodological Puzzle of Consciousness". Check the time stamps to see all the different topics we cover! Find more from Dr. Taylor here: https://henrytaylorphilosophy.com/ if you like this podcast, then support it on Patreon for $3, $5 or more a month. Any amount helps, and for $5 you get a Parker's Pensées sticker and instant access to all the episode as I record them instead of waiting for their release date. Check it out here: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/parkers_pensees If you want to give a one-time gift, you can give at my Paypal: https://paypal.me/ParkersPensees?locale.x=en_US Check out my merchandise at my Teespring store: https://teespring.com/stores/parkers-penses-merch Come talk with the Pensées community on Discord: dsc.gg/parkerspensees Sub to my Substack to read my thoughts on my episodes: https://parknotes.substack.com/ Check out my blog posts: https://parkersettecase.com/ Check out my Parker's Pensées YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYbTRurpFP5q4TpDD_P2JDA Check out my other YouTube channel on my frogs and turtles: https://www.youtube.com/c/ParkerSettecase Check me out on Twitter: https://twitter.com/trendsettercase Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parkers_pensees/0:00 - The Ontological Argument drew Henry into philosophy 7:03 - why think it's hard to have a 'science' of consciousness? 18:31 - Substance Dualism's Heavy Lifting 30:52 - Could God Put My Soul in a Desk? Thomistic Dualism 34:30 - The Methodological Puzzle of Consciousness 40:04 - Cognitive Access and Global Workspace Theory 58:14 - A Novel Problem of Conceiving Consciousness as a Natural Kind 1:05:24 - Recurrent Processing Theory and Artificial Intelligence 1:17:44 - Natural Kinds vs Functional Concepts 1:24:15 - What kind does a 3D Printed Tiger Fit In? 1:28:07 - The Natural Kind Framework for Consciousness 1:38:11 - The Multiple Kinds of Consciousness Problem and Phenomenal Unity 1:45:15 - Synthetic, Lab-Made Consciousness, Natural Kind Consciousness, and Robot Rights