Episode 69, ‘Galileo's Error’ with Philip Goff (Part I - Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness)

Galileo Galilei is widely considered to be the father of modern science and one of the greatest philosophers to have lived. Galileo played a pivotal role in the developments of the scientific revolution, overturning key tenets of Aristotelian physics and most significantly, advocating mathematics as the language of science. For Galileo, the physics of the past was plagued with unhelpful sensory qualities like colours, tastes, smells and sounds; for science to make progress, he thought, ‘the book of the universe’ must be written in a purely quantitative language.

For Durham University’s Philip Goff, this was Galileo’s Error. The hard problem of consciousness was born when Galileo stripped consciousness away from the scientific picture. Somehow, we must find a way back. We must lay the foundations for a new science - a new science of consciousness.

Contents

Part I. Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness

Part II. Further Analysis and Discussion

Links

Philip Goff, Galileo’s Error (2019).

Philip Goff, Website.

Philip Goff, Twitter.