Terrence Deacon (podcast interview)
In his new book Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter Terrence Deacon writes that his goal is “demonstrate how a form of causality depending specifically on absent features and unrealized potential can be compatible with our best science.” (page 16). But in a recent interview (Books and Ideas #47) he also contends that his book "grew out of a dissatisfaction with the systems theory approach." He feels strongly that "to understand the origin of end-directed phenomena, representational phenomena, or mental phenomena, you need to take one further step; you need to figure out what’s beyond self-organization that needs to be explained to account for these things." Thus, his ambitious goal is to find a place for meaning within in science.
Incomplete Nature is a dense but compelling book, and the goal of this interview is to introduce listeners to the idea that life and meaning are compatible with a scientific world view.
Listen to Books and Ideas #47
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Note: This episode is also being released in the Brain Science Podcast feed.
Source: the Brain Science Podcast and Blog with Dr. Ginger Campbell - Category: Neurologists Authors: Virginia Campbell Tags: Books and Ideas Podcast Interviews Neuroscience Podcast Show Notes Source Type: blogs
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