Welcome!

Raison D'être

Greetings!

When I started my fumbling course in abstract thought some 30 years ago, two strange thoughts occurred to me.

1. If I were to perceive things through another person's sensory system, would their perception of green be my perception of red? 
2. And, if I weren't me, would I just be someone else? 

A couple of strange thoughts for a four year old I suppose. Strange for the reason that whenever I asked somebody about those things to get an answer, no one had any. And furthermore, I was usually chastised for what were thought to be silly questions.

So, twenty years later it came to me as a surprise that other people were asking questions similar to mine. Except these people weren't what one would suppose to be “silly” in any way, people like neuroscientists and philosophers of mind.

I came to find that the first question was about something called qualia and the second question had to do with conscious identity. I was even more surprised to find out that when it came to this field, there were questions being explored that were far more complex then anything I'd ever imagined.

This field of study/research is far more important than what a passing glimpse might convey. Philosophy is impossible without scientific truths to contemplate, however, science completely subsists on metaphysical philosophical suppositions. Philosophers, in large part, have acknowledged their dependency on scientific truth, while scientists, in large part, consider philosophers who explore metaphysics and first order properties absent from scientific research to be chasing after a chimera. (They both have their reasons.)

As it turns out, neuroscientists are turning to philosophy to move forward with the problems they're encountering in their research, problems that can't be answered by the scientific method alone. It would seem we've finally come to a place where all philosophical endeavor and scientific effort meet. Strange and exciting realizations are occurring as a result.

I'm only a novice and amateur to this material, and so, I've assembled this place as a repository of writings that are helping me on my way to better understand this complex field. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions please let me know in the comments section of any page on this blog. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy the material here as much as I have.

Happy reading!