Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Club for Open-Minded Discussion & Debate

[Burning ghost]

Hey fellows! I am not a "member" but guess I can still get involved with discussion on Camus. Have been meaning to take a look at this one again lately

[UniversalAlien]

Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence

Editorial Reviews:

"Science Fiction and Philosophy brings two areas together and into a dialogue: philosophy holds the fantasmatic enjoyment of science fiction to account for its illusions and awesome possibilities while science fiction reminds philosophy that all reason and no play makes thought a very dull thing indeed. Hopefully, this volume will find its way into the hands of those who wish to discover something about the highly technological world-view and horizon of meaning of our current epoch." (Discover Magazine, November 2010)

"Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence (Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2009), Schneider mines time travel, artificial intelligence, robot rights, teleportation, and genetic modification to discuss the nature of space and time, free will, transhumanism, the self, neuroethics, and reality." (Discover, December 2010)

"Divided into five parts following themes arising from central questions in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics, it intimately and intelligently ties works of art, which vividly bring to life the aforementioned thought experiments, together with exceptionally thought-provoking philosophical articles inspired and enlightened by the storytelling. It is not, as some edited collections tend to be, a disparate aggregate, but a successful marriage of art with analytic philosophy. It supports not only Schneider's but an even stronger argument: that a good science fiction story is very often a philosophical argument in disguise. If science fiction and philosophy give you pleasure, you may enjoy reading this hook immensely." (Mind & Machines, Fall 2010)

“Looking over the pages one can see Schneider's attention to detail … .Schneider has obviously made her choices for their accessibility and we should applaud her for this … .The collection stands as an important and provocative dialogue between two very rich areas of contemporary cultures and societies. Science Fiction and Philosophy gives us a chance to redeem science fiction … and take the questions it poses seriously and with a critical gaze. This volume will be of interest to audiences read in science fiction, philosophy of science, philosophy of time, philosophy of mind, consciousness studies, epistemology, robot ethics and bio-ethics and biotechnology and general audiences alike.” (Metapsychology)

-- Updated June 9th, 2017, 1:40 pm to add the following --

About the author:

Susan Schneider is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science at the University of Connecticut and a faculty member in the technology and ethics group at Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. Her work is on the nature of the self, which she examines from the vantage point of issues in philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence (AI), metaphysics, astrobiology, epistemology, and neuroscience. The topics she has written about most recently include the software approach to the mind, AI ethics, and the nature of the person. She is also a fellow with the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton.

Her books include: Science Fiction and Philosophy: From Time Travel to Superintelligence, and The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness (with Max Velmans). She is currently writing an academic book on the nature of the mind and a trade/academic book on the technological singularity.

Quote source:
http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-problem-o ... sciousness

[-1-]

"Ballad of a Thin Man". Not a book, but a song lyric by Bob Dylan. I never understood that song, I have no clue what he is singing about. He deserves therefore every inch of the Nobel of Prizes that he got.

If this is too tough for you guys too, I suggest we discuss instead the lyrics of "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by the Rolling of Stones. This is a lighter work, but equally as quizzical, and full of food for thought.

[Syndicatte]

For August 2017: Plato's Gorgias

[Dark_elegancy]

We can try The Existentialist Cafe by Sarah Bakewell which brings in the focus back to what is Existentialism, freedom, Being and philosophy of apricot cocktails

[Alan Jones]

Just read the Guardian's review. Sounds like a fun read.

[Arieen]

I nominate the book "Dreams of a dumb" written by Mr. Tariq Baloch Sehrai, Pakistan, for the month of October, 2017.
The topic is "Philosophy of Mind".

[Sam26]

Those of you who are interested in Ludwig Wittgenstein as I am might be interested in the book Ludwig Wittgenstein by Ray Monk. It's about his life and his philosophy.

[growthhormone]

Hi Scott:

May I nominate this book, BEHIND CIVILISATION? https://www.amazon.com/BEHIND-CIVILISAT ... B0732PBST4

It is an ebook and only costs $ 0.99 USD. It is a book of scientific philosophy uniting social science and natural science, and further science and philosophy. It solves two philosophy issuers, ToE (the Theory of Everything) and what is beauty.

Regards,

GH

[mr533473]

Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar – Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes

A book that explains basic philosophical concepts through classic jokes. Thomas Wilson Cathcart and Daniel Martin Klein, graduates of Harvard in philosophy, collaborated on the book.

The concept behind the book in the Introduction: “The construction and payoff of jokes and the construction and payoff of philosophical concepts are made out of the same stuff. They tease the mind in the same ways…philosophy and jokes proceed from the same impulse: to confound our sense of the way things are, to flip our worlds upside down, and to ferret out hidden, often uncomfortable, truths about life. What the philosopher calls an insight, the gagster calls a zinger."

I heard the authors on a podcast talking about the book, they were great. The books sounds interesting. It might be a little light on but hey, we can read Kant next month..

[magdalangel]

I nominate the book "The Fourfold Path, The True Self and Transcendence In The Human Space In Plato."

[Numb3rThr33]

I nominate "Life Unravelled: The Truth and The Way", by S.G.Dreyden
www.shaungeorgedreyden.com

[Burning ghost]

I’m going to post some podcasts to discuss. The scope for reading books here suffers limitations.

Podcasts, essays, articles or writings under 100 words are most likely to get bigger responses and interaction.

I’m currently going over The Birth of Tragedy again if anyone’s interested?

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

It has been a while since we have had a Philosophy Book of the Month. However, we will re-start the monthly discussions this January.

Nominations for future Philosophy Books of the Month can only be made by (1) moderators, (2) contributors, or (3) those who participate in the Philosophy Book of the Month Discussion Forum (which requires actually reading the book each month). If fall into one of those three categories, please send me a PM with any books you wish to nominate at any time. If you haven't participated in the previous Book of the Month discussions but plan to start participating when we re-start in January, please hold your nominations until then.