Are Science and Religion Incompatible? 6 Nov 2017, 3:24 am

Ian Barbour once claimed that an argument between a religious fundamentalist and a science fundamentalist was like a struggle between a warthog and a boa constrictor; in the end the victor swallows the vanquished. Is that the last word in the dialog between science and religion?

Music: Gnossienne No. 1, Erik Satie. Pianist: Edward Rosser

The pdf version of this talk can be downloaded here.

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The Nature of Belief 6 Nov 2017, 2:45 am

If you ask me, do you believe in God? You are really asking three questions. What do you mean by “belief?” What do you mean by “God?” And given the answers to the first two questions, do you believe in God? Let’s look at that first question, what is belief?

Music: Sonata in E, K 380, Domenico Scarlatti. Pianist: Vadim Chaimovich

A pdf text of this talk can be downloaded here.

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The human brain: thinking meat, caring meat, loving meat 12 Aug 2017, 9:30 pm

Think about all your dreams, loves, memories, and fears. Think about yourself as an individual existing through time. Somehow all this arises from three pounds of meat packed inside your skull. How is this possible? There is nothing we know more intimately than conscious experience and nothing that is harder to explain.

Music: Borodin: String quartet No. 2, Third movement, Czech National Symphony. You will recognize the melody “This Is My Beloved” from “Kismet.”

The pdf text of this and the next lecture can be downloaded here.

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Ghosts and zombies: Descartes and substance dualism 11 Aug 2017, 10:14 pm

  The 17th century Frenchman René Descartes is often called the father of modern philosophy. He developed a theory of consciousness that makes perfect sense. Now being called a Cartesian dualist is a serious insult. What went wrong?

Music: Borodin, String Quartet No.2, Second Movement, Czech National Orchestra. Another Kismet melody, “Baubles, Bangles and Beads.”

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Neurons, dendrites, axons, and calculating chemicals 10 Aug 2017, 11:13 pm

The brain works in strange ways. Einstein’s inferior parietal lobe was 15% larger that yours or mine. That made him a genius. A construction worker named Phineas Gage had  part of his brain destroyed in a blasting accident. That made him grouchy. How are we to explain this?

Music: Scriabin, Opus 2 No. 1, Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Vadim Chaimovich pianist

The pdf text of this and the next lecture can be downloaded here.

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The mysteries of vision 9 Aug 2017, 11:13 pm

Did you know that you have as many synapses in your brain as there are leaves on all the trees in the Amazon rain forest and each synapse can do arithmetical calculations using protein molecules?

Music: Scriabin, Opus 42 No. 1, Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Syuzanna Kaszo pianist

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Is the brain a computer? (Was Commander Data human?) 9 Aug 2017, 2:57 am

What if our brains are just complicated computers? We know how computers work, so we must understand everything about consciousness. Is it really that simple?

Music: J. S. Bach, Toccatas BWV 910-916 Mehmet Okonsar, piano

The pdf text of this and the next lecture can be downloaded here.

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Artificial intelligence and the Chinese room 7 Aug 2017, 10:21 pm

Would it be possible to build a computer that was conscious in the same way that we are? There is a classic (and controversial) argument to the effect that this is impossible, even in principle.

Just imagine — you are in a room full of Chinese reference books.

Music: J. S. Bach, Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, Variation 6, Shelly Katz Piano

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Physicalism: only matter matters 6 Aug 2017, 10:22 pm

Does your conscious mind have any effect on your brain? Maybe not. Some claim that our consciousness is like the rainbow over a waterfall. The waterfall causes it, but the rainbow in turn has no effect on the waterfall. This point of view is called epiphenomenalism. It seems wildly counterintuitive and impossible to disprove.

Music: Beethoven, String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Third Movement, Orion Quartet  Licensed through Creative Commons.

This is a live performance so please excuse the occasional sneeze and cough.

The pdf text of this and the next lecture can be downloaded here.

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Physicalism and Black and White Mary 5 Aug 2017, 10:24 pm

Is it true that consciousness is purely physical? The most famous argument against this point of view is the story of Black and White Mary.

Music: Beethoven, String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Third Movement, Orion Quartet  Licensed through Creative Commons.

This is a live performance so please excuse the occasional sneeze and cough.

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