Philip Goff: Panpsychism as a Theory of Consciousness

The Gradient: Perspectives on AI

Episode 141

I spoke with Professor Philip Goff about:

* What a “post-Galilean” science of consciousness looks like

* How panpsychism helps explain consciousness and the hybrid cosmopsychist view

Enjoy!

Philip Goff is a British author, idealist philosopher, and professor at Durham University whose research focuses on philosophy of mind and consciousness. Specifically, it focuses on how consciousness can be part of the scientific worldview. He is the author of multiple books including Consciousness and Fundamental Reality, Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness and Why? The Purpose of the Universe.

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Outline:

* (00:00) Intro

* (01:05) Goff vs. Carroll on the Knowledge Arguments and explanation

* (08:00) Preferences for theories

* (12:55) Curiosity (Grounding, Essence) and the Knowledge Argument

* (14:40) Phenomenal transparency and physicalism vs. anti-physicalism

* (29:00) How Exactly does Panpsychism Help Explain Consciousness

* (30:05) The argument for hybrid cosmopsychism

* (36:35) “Bare” subjects / subjects before inheriting phenomenal properties

* (40:35) Bundle theories of the self

* (43:35) Fundamental properties and new subjects as causal powers

* (50:00) Integrated Information Theory

* (55:00) Fundamental assumptions in hybrid cosmopsychism

* (1:00:00) Outro

Links:

* Philip’s homepage and Twitter

* Papers

* Putting Consciousness First

* Curiosity (Grounding, Essence) and the Knowledge Argument

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