John Vervaeke and Evan Thompson continue the exploration of life, cognition, and consciousness, drawing from interdisciplinary collaboration and philosophical discourse. The discussion challenges reductionist perspectives in biology, examines organisms as autonomous agents, and questions the adequacy of current models to explain life's complexities. Consciousness is explored through presence and embodiment, while also debating the roles of large language models like ChatGPT in understanding cognitive processes. By integrating philosophical and phenomenological perspectives, the episode addresses the interconnectedness of consciousness, cognition, and life, transcending traditional mind-matter dichotomies and emphasizing the significance of embodiment in cognitive functions.

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Evan Thompson is a philosopher and author, specializing in the integration of cognitive science, philosophy of mind, and Asian philosophical traditions. Based at the University of British Columbia, his work, including his recent book 'The Blind Spot', examines the intersections of consciousness, experience, and reality through a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach.

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Notes:
0:00 Introduction: Welcome to the Lectern
0:15 Evan Thompson's Background and the Book 'The Blind Spot'
2:10 The Blind Spot in Perception: Cognitive Science, Asian Philosophy, and Mystical Insight
2:30 Revolution in Biology: Life, Cognition, and Consciousness
5:00 Autonomous Agents vs. Machines
11:30 Challenges to Newtonian Mechanics and Reductionist Ontology
22:00 Life as Self-Enabling, Not law-Entailing
32:00 Historical and Nomological Explanations in Biology
39:00 Epiphenomenalism
43:00 Debunking Computational Functionalism
45:00 Exploring Cognition and Relevance Realization
49:00 Limits of AI
51:00 The Energy and Social Costs of AI
1:00:00 Structures of Consciousness
1:08:00 The Primacy of Awareness and Embodiment
1:22:00 Concluding Thoughts and Future Discussions

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John Vervaeke:
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Evan Thompson:
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Ideas, People, and Works Mentioned in this Episode

The Blind Spot: Why Science Cannot Ignore Human Experience - book co-authored by Evan Thompson, Adam Frank, and Marcelo Gleiser
Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy - book by Evan Thompson
Why I Am Not a Buddhist - book by Evan Thompson
The Nature of Selection: Evolutionary Theory in Philosophical Focus by Elliott Sober
The Watchmen (comic series) by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
The Relevance Realization (paper) by John Vervaeke and colleagues
Chalmers' work on consciousness works by David Chalmers
The Visible and the Invisible by Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Neoplatonism
Hegelian Philosophy
Immanuel Kant
Alfred North Whitehead
Douglas Harding
Marcelo Gleiser

Quotes:

“Organisms are autonomous agents, not machines.” -Evan Thompson (4:00)

“Consciousness has the order of priority in terms of intelligibility or meaning.” -Evan Thompson (1:04:00)

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