Eric Schwitzgebel, a philosophy professor at UC Riverside and author of "A Theory of Jerks," dives into the bizarre realm of consciousness. He explores why our intuitions often fail when grappling with profound questions about reality, such as the provocative idea that the United States could be a conscious entity. Thought experiments like "supersquids" challenge listeners to rethink what consciousness might entail. Schwitzgebel emphasizes the intrinsic weirdness of existence and the importance of embracing it while probing deeper into the nature of consciousness itself.
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insights INSIGHT
Unreliable Intuitions
Human intuition is unreliable for fundamental questions because it evolved for practical matters.
Intuitions are not pressured towards truth in areas like cosmology or consciousness, allowing them to be inaccurate.
insights INSIGHT
Universal Bizarreness and Dubiety
Every fundamental claim about the universe and consciousness is bizarre and dubious.
Bizarreness means contradicting common sense, while dubiousness means lacking compelling evidence.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Quantum Mechanics Example
Quantum mechanics demonstrates universal bizarreness and dubiety.
Its interpretations, like Schrödinger's cat, are strange and lack a clear consensus.
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In *The Weirdness of the World*, Eric Schwitzgebel argues that the answers to fundamental questions about consciousness and the cosmos lie beyond our powers of comprehension. He proposes a philosophy that opens possibilities rather than narrowing down to a single theory, embracing the bizarreness of all philosophical explanations. Schwitzgebel's work encourages readers to consider the thrill of exploring bizarre philosophical possibilities.
A Theory of Jerks and Other Philosophical Misadventures
Eric Schwitzgebel
In 'A Theory of Jerks and Other Philosophical Misadventures', Eric Schwitzgebel presents a wide-ranging collection of essays that delve into topics such as moral psychology, the ethics of jerks, and speculative philosophy of consciousness. The book is characterized by its light tone and diverse subject matter, making it an engaging read for both philosophers and non-specialists. Schwitzgebel encourages readers to explore the essays in any order, reflecting the eclectic nature of his philosophical musings.
Combining Minds
Combining Minds
How to Think About Composite Subjectivity
Luke Roelofs
In 'Combining Minds', Luke Roelofs delves into the combination problem for panpsychism, examining how simple consciousness in fundamental physical entities might combine to form complex conscious experiences. The book explores various philosophical issues related to consciousness and composite subjectivity.
"One of the most amazing things about planet Earth is that there are complex bags of mostly water — you and me – and we can look up at the stars, and look into our brains, and try to grapple with the most complex, difficult questions that there are. And even if we can’t make great progress on them and don’t come to completely satisfying solutions, just the fact of trying to grapple with these things is kind of the universe looking at itself and trying to understand itself. So we’re kind of this bright spot of reflectiveness in the cosmos, and I think we should celebrate that fact for its own intrinsic value and interestingness." —Eric Schwitzgebel
In today’s episode, host Luisa Rodriguez speaks to Eric Schwitzgebel — professor of philosophy at UC Riverside — about some of the most bizarre and unintuitive claims from his recent book, The Weirdness of the World.
Why our intuitions seem so unreliable for answering fundamental questions about reality.
What the materialist view of consciousness is, and how it might imply some very weird things — like that the United States could be a conscious entity.
Thought experiments that challenge our intuitions — like supersquids that think and act through detachable tentacles, and intelligent species whose brains are made up of a million bugs.
Eric’s claim that consciousness and cosmology are universally bizarre and dubious.
How to think about borderline states of consciousness, and whether consciousness is more like a spectrum or more like a light flicking on.
The nontrivial possibility that we could be dreaming right now, and the ethical implications if that’s true.
Why it’s worth it to grapple with the universe’s most complex questions, even if we can’t find completely satisfying solutions.
And much more.
Chapters:
Cold open |00:00:00|
Luisa’s intro |00:01:10|
Bizarre and dubious philosophical theories |00:03:13|
The materialist view of consciousness |00:13:55|
What would it mean for the US to be conscious? |00:19:46|
Supersquids and antheads thought experiments |00:22:37|
Alternatives to the materialist perspective |00:35:19|
Are our intuitions useless for thinking about these things? |00:42:55|
Key ingredients for consciousness |00:46:46|
Reasons to think the US isn’t conscious |01:01:15|
Overlapping consciousnesses [01:09:32]
Borderline cases of consciousness |01:13:22|
Are we dreaming right now? |01:40:29|
Will we ever have answers to these dubious and bizarre questions? |01:56:16|
Producer and editor: Keiran Harris Audio engineering lead: Ben Cordell Technical editing: Simon Monsour, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong Additional content editing: Katy Moore and Luisa Rodriguez Transcriptions: Katy Moore
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