How all philosophical explanations of human consciousness and the
fundamental structure of the cosmos are bizarre—and why that’s
a good thing Do we live inside a simulated reality or a pocket
universe embedded in a larger structure about which we know
virtually nothing? Is consciousness a purely physical matter, or
might it require something extra, something nonphysical? According
to the philosopher Eric Schwitzgebel, it’s hard to say. In The
Weirdness of the World, Schwitzgebel argues that the answers to
these fundamental questions lie beyond our powers of comprehension.
We can be certain only that the truth—whatever it is—is weird.
Philosophy, he proposes, can aim to open—to reveal possibilities
we had not previously appreciated—or to close, to narrow down to
the one correct theory of the phenomenon in question. Schwitzgebel
argues for a philosophy that opens. According to Schwitzgebel’s
“Universal Bizarreness” thesis, every possible theory of the
relation of mind and cosmos defies common sense. According to his
complementary “Universal Dubiety” thesis, no general theory of
the relationship between mind and cosmos compels rational belief.
Might the United States be a conscious organism—a conscious group
mind with approximately the intelligence of a rabbit? Might
virtually every action we perform cause virtually every possible
type of future event, echoing down through the infinite future of
an infinite universe? What, if anything, is it like to be a garden
snail? Schwitzgebel makes a persuasive case for the thrill of
considering the most bizarre philosophical possibilities.
General
| Imprint: |
Princeton University Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Release date: |
December 2023 |
| Firstpublished: |
2024 |
| Authors: |
Eric Schwitzgebel
|
| Dimensions: |
235 x 156mm (L x W) |
| Pages: |
360 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-0-691-21567-9 |
| Categories: |
Books
|
| LSN: |
0-691-21567-7 |
| Barcode: |
9780691215679 |
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