Mind and Matter

Mind Shift ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 19-31
Author(s):  
John Parrington
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Rene Descartes ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
Common Thread ◽  
René Descartes

This chapter discusses different views on the basis of human consciousness. A major problem with much popular speculation about the biological roots of consciousness is that those who advocate a gene-based view of consciousness often appear to have little understanding of modern genetics, while speculation about how brain structures shape that consciousness often bear little resemblance to emerging knowledge about the complexity of an actual human brain. There is a common thread here, which is that idealised genes and brains have been substituted for real ones. Unfortunately, because of this tendency, it is not clear how much we have really advanced forwards from René Descartes and his belief that the human mind was an unknowable entity, or for that matter, the behaviourists with their view that the human mind could be treated as a black box. In contrast, to understand human consciousness, there is a need to understand real genes, real brains, and how these have evolved in humans compared to other species.

scholarly journals MODERN RATIONALISM AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL IDEAS OF RENE DESCARTES

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-243
Author(s):  
I.P. Brekotkina
Keyword(s):  
Rene Descartes ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Thought Process ◽  
Philosophical Concept ◽  
René Descartes ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Human Thinking ◽  
Reliable Knowledge ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Relationship

The article discusses the main aspects of the paradigm of scientific thinking, which was created by Rene Descartes in the middle of the 17th century. The author focuses on the problem of metaphysical validity of the human mind, as well as the subject-object relations in the epistemological ideas of the French thinker. These questions are explored through the consideration of the “I”-God-nature triad, which is central to Descartes' philosophical concept. The idea of a created mind was for the philosopher the fundamental basis for obtaining reliable knowledge about the world and discoveries in the scientific field. Descartes defined the mind as an instrument of knowledge and paid great attention to the problem of controlling one's own thinking using the method he invented. The thought process becomes an object of observation and reflection on the part of the “I”. The article examines the relationship between freedom and necessity in Cartesian philosophy. One of the most important tasks set by Descartes is to free thinking from prejudice and build a new philosophy. The basic principle of the Cartesian philosophical system was total doubt. The act of doubt reveals the ability of thinking to manifest freedom. Free will is considered by Descartes as one of the registers of human thinking, through which the control of the thought process is carried out.

scholarly journals Rasionalisme Descartes dan Implikasinya Terhadap Pemikiran Pembaharuan Islam Muhammad Abduh

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (02) ◽  
pp. 128-144
Author(s):  
Mursyid Fikri
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Rene Descartes ◽  
Christian Church ◽  
Common Thread ◽  
René Descartes ◽  
Descriptive Qualitative

Abstrak Peneitian ini bertujuan mengupas tentang paham rasionalisme yang dicetuskan Rene Descartes dan Implikasinya terhadap Pemikiran Pebaharuan Islam Muhammad Abduh. Rasionalisme Rene Descartes merupakan paham yang muncul ditengah kungkungan gereja Kristiani yang dikenal dengan masa skolastik. Paham ini lebih menekankan pada penggunaan akal (rasio) untuk memperoleh sebuah pengetahuan. Tentunya sebagai hasil filsafat, paham rasionalisme sangat berperan penting pada perkembangan ilmu-ilmu pengetahuan lain. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode deskriptif kualitatif, Penulis mencoba mengaitkan dan menampilkan Implikasi antara pemikiran Rasionalisme descartes dan pemikiran pembaharuan dalam islam. Adapun hasil penelitian ini penulis melihat adanya benang merah antara dasar rasionalisme descartes dan pemikiran muhammad abduh bahwa keduanya menjadikan akal sebagai alat untuk melakukan penalaran terhadap suatu kebenaran. Kata kunci : Rasionalisme Descartes, Implikasinya, Pemikiran Pembaharuan         Muhammad  Abduh AbsractThis study aims to explore the understanding of rationalism triggered by Rene Descartes and its implications for Islamic Reformation Muhammad Abduh. Rene's Reneisme Descartes is an understanding that emerged amidst the confines of the Christian church known as the scholastic period. This emphasis is more on the use of reason (ratio) to gain a knowledge. Certainly as a result of philosophy, the notion of rationalism is very important role in the development of other sciences. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative method, the author tries to link and display the implication between Rationalism thinking descartes and thinking of renewal in Islam. The results of this study the authors see the existence of a common thread between the foundations of descartes rationalism and thought muhammad abduh that both make sense as a tool to make reasoning against a truth. Keywords: Rationalism Descartes, Implication, Thinking Renewal Muhammad Abduh

Mind and Machine

Mind Shift ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 396-410
Author(s):  
John Parrington
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Genomic Analysis ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Machine Intelligence ◽  
Human Consciousness ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
The World ◽  
Future Technologies

This chapter explores how future technologies might impact on human consciousness. It begins by discussing how new techniques are continuing to add to the understanding of the human mind. There are many exciting technologies available now to the neuroscientist, such as genomic analysis, optogenetics, gene editing, and brain organoids. To what extent could such technologies be used to investigate the model of human consciousness outlined in this book? The chapter then considers whether artificial intelligence might come to rival that of human beings, and possible interfaces between human and machine intelligence. Our growing ability to develop functioning robots raises the question of whether an artificial human brain might be used to control such a robot, creating in effect a cyborg. However, the creation of such an entity could make a big difference in terms of an artificial brain’s sense of identity in the world, as well as its rights.

scholarly journals El escepticismo. De la Teología Medieval a la Filosofía Moderna: Robert Holkot y René Descartes

2006 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 181
Author(s):  
Francisco LEÓN FLORIDO
Keyword(s):  
Rene Descartes ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
The Future ◽  
René Descartes ◽  
Power Of God

The modern philosophical Skepticism has its origins in the cartesian figure of a deus deceptor orgénie malin that can create ideas in the human mind. The «divine deception» may have precedents in the theological medieval controversy about the contingent nature of the future and the power of God, and particularly on the theological commentaries of the english Dominican Robert Holkot.

The Price of Truth: Reciprocity, Giving, and Generosity in the Philosophy of René Descartes

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 147-170
Keyword(s):  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Rene Descartes ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Economic Science ◽  
Homo Oeconomicus ◽  
Intellectual Activity ◽  
René Descartes ◽  
Economic Thinking ◽  
Selfish Interest

The article provides a comparison of the concept of homo œconomicus with the core theses of René Descartes’ moral philosophy. The first section draws on the work of the contemporary Western philosopher Anselm Jappe in which Descartes’ philosophy is held to be the cornerstone of the established view and current scientific definitions of homo œconomicus as the fundamental and indispensable agent of capitalistic relations. As opposed to this “common sense” position in the modern social sciences, the second section of the article builds upon Pierre Bourdieu’s Anthropologie économique (2017) to demystify the notion of homo œconomicus. The article then examines some aspects of modern philosophical anthropology that show odd traces of Descartes’ thinking and that are regularly applied in economic science as well as in the critique of economic thinking as such. These are the concepts of mutuality, giving, exchange and generosity, and they are regarded as central to the philosopher’s moral doctrine.The author concludes that the philosophical doctrine of generosity has very little in common with the bourgeois ideology of utility which implies an instrumental relationship between subjects: in Caretesian moral philosophy the Other is neither an object of influence nor a means to achieve someone’s personal goals nor a windowless monad. Generosity certainly has its economic aspects, but these do not include accumulating wealth in the bourgeois sense. It is more in the realm of the aristocratic practice of making dispensations. All throughout his life Decartes may be viewed as exhibiting a peculiar kind of nobility in which the desire to give, endow and sacrifice outweighs any selfish interest. The vigorous pursuit of well-being gives way to a quest for the leisure required to pursue intellectual activity, and care for oneself does not preclude attending to and loving the Other, whatever form it may take.

La disparition des formes aristotéliciennes. À propos d'une démarche clandestine dans les Méditations

Dialogue ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 539-548
Author(s):  
Georges Moyal
Keyword(s):  
Rene Descartes ◽  
René Descartes

RÉSUMÉMême si l'appréhension que l'on peut avoir des formes aristotéliciennes résulte de ce qu'Aristote nomme «induction», rien ne nécessite que leurs composantes soient reliées entre elles de façon intelligible, comme le sont, au contraire, les propriétés de la matière. C'est ce qui porte René Descartes à en débarrasser les sciences par une démarche effectuée subrepticement dans sa VIe Méditation, et à leur substituer la matière, dénominateur commun des êtres naturels. C'est cette démarche — elle continue d’éluder certains de ses lecteurs —, que nous tentons de mettre au jour dans ce qui suit.

Beautiful Surfaces

Nuncius ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-287
Author(s):  
Eleanor Chan
Keyword(s):  
Rene Descartes ◽  
Latin Translation ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
René Descartes ◽  
Critical Interpretation

The assumption that the Cartesian bête-machine is the invention of René Descartes (1596–1650) is rarely contested. Close examination of Descartes’ texts proves that this is a concept founded not on the basis of his own writings, but a subsequent critical interpretation, which developed and began to dominate his work after his death. Descartes’ Treatise on Man, published posthumously in two rival editions, Florentius Schuyl’s Latin translation De Homine (1662), and Claude Clerselier’s Traité de l’ homme, has proved particularly problematic. The surviving manuscript copies of the Treatise on Man left no illustrations, leaving both editors the daunting task of producing a set of images to accompany and clarify the fragmented text. In this intriguing case, the images can be seen to have spoken louder than the text which they illustrated. This paper assesses Schuyl’s choice to represent Descartes’ Man in a highly stylized manner, without superimposing Clerselier’s intentions onto De Homine.

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