Adventures in Awareness Bernardo Kastrup: Refuting Materialism (Lecture 1 of 2)
Oct 6, 2024
Bernardo Kastrup, a philosopher with Ph.D.s in philosophy and computer engineering, delves into the world of metaphysical idealism. He challenges materialism, exploring how our consciousness shapes reality rather than mere physical properties. The discussion critiques the inadequacies of both materialism and panpsychism in defining consciousness. Kastrup emphasizes the value of qualitative experiences and argues that consciousness may be fundamental to reality, inviting listeners to rethink their foundational beliefs about existence.
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Materialism Reverses Map And Territory
- Materialism defines reality as quantities and treats experiential qualities as secondary epiphenomena.
- That reversal creates the hard problem by trying to reduce qualities to descriptions that exclude qualities.
Hard Problem As A Thought Error
- The hard problem of consciousness arises from a conceptual error, not an empirical mystery.
- It's created by defining matter to exclude qualities and then asking how qualities emerge.
Evaluate Metaphysics With Five Criteria
- Use both science and philosophy when choosing a metaphysical theory, not one in place of the other.
- Check empirical adequacy, logical coherence, parsimony, consistency, and explanatory power.