FROM THE FOOTNOTES2PLATO ARCHIVE
Tag: science
Explore the evolving conversation, or begin with a guide to its central questions.
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Paradigm Shifts, Human Experience, Panpsychism, and Psychedelics (dialoguing with Jack Roycroft-Sherry)
Jack and I discussed a number of topics, beginning with how science and philosophy might be demarcated. I suggest that science, born from natural philosophy, relies on metaphysical presuppositions and…
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Metaphysics, Science, and Waking Up (dialogue with Roman Campolo)
Roman and Matt delved into Whitehead’s metaphysics, exploring its intersections with modern science and spiritual experience. Roman began by asking Matt about the distinction between Whitehead’s eternal objects and Plato’s…
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Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy: A dialogue with Evan Sola, PsyD and Casey Paleos, MD
A clinical psychologist and psychiatrist involved in MAPS’ phase 3 MDMA trials weigh in on the ethical and ontological challenges of psychedelic psychotherapy. Here is a rough transcript of this…
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Philosophy of/as Information in Simondon, Floridi, and Whitehead (dialogue with Tim Jackson)
We discuss Ashley Woodward’s paper on Simondon: “Philosophy of/as Information” Here’s a ChatGPT4o summary: Matt greeted Tim, sharing about the warm weather in Oakland and the ongoing Independence Day celebrations…
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More Reflections on “The Blind Spot”: Life, Cognition, and Consciousness
These are rough notes that capture some of my ongoing reflections after re-reading the core chapters of The Blind Spot. You can read my original review here: Blind Spot Review. I…
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Review of “The Blind Spot: Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience”
Review of The Blind Spot: Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience (MIT Press, 2024) by Adam Frank, Marcelo Gleiser, and Evan Thompson By Matthew David Segall In The Blind Spot, Frank, Gleiser, and…
Albert Einstein, Alfred North Whitehead, autopoiesis, Copernican Revolution, Daniel Dennett, Darwin, David Chalmers, Descartes, Donna Haraway, Edmund Husserl, Evan Thompson, Francisco Varela, Galileo, Goethe, Henri Bergson, Isabelle Stengers, Modern Philosophy, Ptolemy, reason, Rudolf Steiner, William James -
Polycomputing and Process Philosophy
Tim and I were at it again this afternoon. I begin by introducing some ideas from this preprint by Joshua Bongard and Michael Levin: “There’s Plenty of Room Right Here:…
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Alfred North Whitehead: Ideas and Influence
Below is an article I’ve just finished that will eventually be translated into German and published in The Whitehead Handbook (Verlag).
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Generalizing the Function: Process Ontology and Free Energy
Summary by ChatGPT4 based on the YouTube transcript: This conversation between Tim and Matt revolves around their philosophical exploration of process philosophy, the Free Energy Principle, and Simondon’s philosophy of…
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Schelling and the Return of Organic Science
Below is a video (talk, then Q&A) and transcript of my talk yesterday for the Scientific and Medical Network. I’m hoping to be able to share the video at a later…
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Jim Rutt Show on the Metaphysics of the Origin of Life
Here’s a link to Episode 232 of the Jim Rutt Show, wherein I join Jim to discuss the metaphysical presuppositions and cosmological implications of the Hot Spring Hypothesis of the origin…
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Whitehead’s Panprehensionism: A Feeling For Reality (Dialogue with Tim Jackson)
Video timestamps are available on YouTube. Below is Claude 3 Opus’ summary of the transcript (with a few edits by me): In this detailed conversation, Matt, a philosopher, and Tim,…
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The Future Impact of Artificial Intelligence
On Wednesday evening (March 13) at Grace Cathedral, was in dialogue with the Rt. Rev. Dr. Marc Handley Andrus, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California; Brian Behlendorf, CTO of Open Wallet Foundation; and Zann…
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Fantasy, Science, and Beauty in an Evolving Universe (dialogue with Tim Jackson)
Tim and I continued our dialogue about the Free Energy Principle and Whitehead’s cosmology. I began by recounting a short video of Karl Friston saying all human perception is fantasy. From…
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Agency and Perception in Whitehead and the Free Energy Principle (dialogue with Tim Jackson)
Tim and I continue to explore how Whitehead’s Philosophy of Organism might intersect with contemporary scientific theories, especially the Free Energy Principle (FEP). The FEP suggests that organisms strive to…
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Processing Process Ontology (dialogue with Bonnitta Roy and Gregg Henriques)
Bonnie, Gregg, and I met to discuss the interplay between process philosophy and UTOK. We begin by unpacking the status of metaphysics vis à vis science in order to head off some common misconceptions. I…
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Whitehead and the Free Energy Principle: The Physics and Metaphysics of Information (dialogue with Tim Jackson)
Tim Jackson and I met for another thought jam to explore the interplay between contemporary physics, information theory, biology, and Whitehead’s process philosophy. We got into the ontology of abstraction…
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Artificial Intelligence, Moral Imagination, and Spiritual Evolution (dialogue with Roman Campolo)
Roman and I had another wide-ranging dialogue. Topics traversed include: artificial intelligence and the increasing automation of human life the elemental agencies that technologies may be expressions of the cultivation…
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‘The Progress of Knowledge Has Led to a Regression of Thought’ By Edgar Morin
Edgar Morin: The Progress of Knowledge Has Led to a Regression of Thought The multiplication of wars, global warming, the rise of authoritarian regimes: the world is rushing towards disaster, but we must resist…
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Conference Update – Metaphysics and the Matter With Things: Thinking With Iain McGilchrist
Andrew Davis and I sat down with Iain McGilchrist to discuss our upcoming conference at CIIS in San Francisco, March 29-31. In-person tickets have already sold out, but online registration…
