socrates in cyberspace book preview
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“You would not find the boundaries of the soul, even by traveling along every path: so deep a measure does it have,” so reckoned the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus. Today, however, most scientists and philosophers are writing the soul’s obituary. Brain imaging technologies, advances in Artificial Intelligence, and the apparent disrepute of many traditional conceptions of the soul are changing the way we understand consciousness. But is the “triumph” of scientific materialism warranted? Socrates in Cyberspace examines the ontological status of the soul in 21st century. Weaving together science, philosophy, and even a touch of poetry Socrates in Cyberspace explores traditional conceptions of the soul ranging from Pythagoras to Wittgenstein, as well as the quirky world of quantum mechanics and its possible relevance to consciousness. What emerges is an intellectual adventure that is sure to kindle your sense of wonder, stir your imagination, and make you think of life in new ways.TRANSCRIPT
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Socrates in Cyberspace The Search for the Soul in the 21st Century
"Philosophy may
be blind without
science, but
science can lack
vision without
philosophy."
"Philosophy
begins with
wonder and aims
at understanding.
Poetry creates
wonder and aims
at transcendence.
Where the two
paths meet, great
distances can be
traversed in a
single leap."
"The self is not
an isolated
entity. I interact,
therefore I am."
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“You’re Nothing But A Pack of
Neurons” The scientist Francis Crick summed up
the conventional neuroscientific wisdom
regarding the mystery of consciousness
when he wrote: “You’re nothing but a
pack of neurons.”
… but is Crick’s reductive outlook
on consciousness right?
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“Teetering Bulbs of Dread and
Dream”
The ancient philosopher
Heraclitus expressed a
different view regarding
consciousness. He wrote:
“You would not find the
boundaries of the soul,
even by traveling every
path; so deep a measure
does it have.”
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“The Uroboros” The Uroboros, the mythical
serpent which consumes its
own tail. The Uroboros is a
symbol that represents the self-
reflexive, cyclical, and eternal
nature of the cosmos.
The Uroboros motif was central
to the work of physicist John
Wheeler . In essence, Wheeler
adopts the Anthropic Principle,
the view that the objective
world only fully comes into
being when it is observed.
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Uroboros - The Motif of the
Eternal Return
The Uroboros motif surfaces in art, music, literature, and
philosophy. M.C. Escher’s famous Art Gallery etching
illustrates how the seeming split between subjectivity and
objectivity is an illusion.
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Mind and Matter
The physicist Roger Penrose believes that reality
consists of an inter-relationship between three
realms: the physical world, the mental world, and a
Platonic realm of immaterial Ideals.
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Mind and The Platonic Realm Here is a snowflake in my hand, like some
white Athens in the palm of history a
moment’s fragile Parthenon . . .
. . . And I a god who holds it as it
dies to sudden dew. This molecule of
world may be the dominion of a
subtler nation, inviolate to our eyes.
If atoms dream what kingdom claims
this melting star of snow! -- Alfred
Dorn
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Mind and The Platonic Realm (2)
There are motifs that
repeatedly crop up in
nature. For example, the
Golden Ratio is pattern
that surfaces in seashells,
The Parthenon, and the
arrangement of sunflower
seeds (among other
phenomena)
Each individual instance of beauty is a reflection of something
deeper. The existence of the Golden Ratio suggests that there is
an intrinsic order and a subtle intelligence woven into the fabric
of life. Plato believed that contemplating beautiful things
made the soul more beautiful.
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Quantum Consciousness
Numerous thinkers believe that quantum mechanical phenomena
play a role in consciousness. The Uroboros theme is present in the
journey matter has taken from the quantum level towards
consciousness.
“The starry heavens above and the moral law within fill the mind
with an ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more
often and the more steadily we reflect.” -- Kant
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Quantum Honeybees?
A scientist named Dr. Barbara Shipman has found that patterns
exhibited by bees coincide very precisely with patterns used to
describe the properties of subatomic particles called quarks. Dr.
Shipman speculates that “the physics of bees bodies, their
physiology, must be constructed so that they’re sensitive to
quantum fields – that is, the bees perceive these fields through
quantum mechanical interactions between the fields and atoms in
the membranes of certain cells.”
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I Interact, Therefore I Am? The human brain may
harness quantum
mechanical properties.
For example, a form of
quantum computation
(quantum annealing) may
be taking place at the
protein level within
neurons.
The proper shape of a protein may depend
on quantum factors. Microtubules are
proteins filaments within neurons that are
responsible for the growth and shrinkage
of neurons. The linking of disparate
neurons may depend on quantum factors!
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Socrates in Cyberspace “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our
exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place
for the first time.”
-- T.S. Eliot
E-Mail:
If quantum mechanical factors are involved in
consciousness, then you are a lot more than a pack
of neurons. As the philosopher Shelling put it: “we
are the eyes and ears of the universe.” Explore the
frontiers of consciousness further by reading
“Socrates in Cyberspace.”
Available at
Amazon