The success of the scientific method over the last few centuries cannot be denied and that has led to the attempt to use it to solve some of our most complex human problems. The inherent conflict with religion, fought over the same time frame, has resulted in mostly victory for science and led to a hubris on the part of those who wish to push strict logic when examining the basis for ethics. This has had little or no success. Churchland has written a book about how to address moral issues without resorting to a rules-based system. Yet it is rational and understandable with biologically based evidence to support the conclusion that a basis does exist for conscience that does not need some universal written rule. Along the way she addresses the issue of free will which has so plagued the scientific philosophers that many of them have just declared that it doesn't exist - a cop-out that only those with "unwavering adherence to a favored ideology" can espouse.
I highly recommend this book. It is down-to-earth philosophy that is very readable and wise. It turns out that the only rule that makes sense is: There are no rules that always make sense. And yes, for most of us there is a conscience.
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What does the expression free will mean?
Patricia Churchland asks this question on page 183. What does the expression "free will" mean?I submit for your consideration that this question is the Philosophical pivot point of Dr. Church's work. It is the Philosophical question to be resolved as human progress from faith-centric thinking to reason-centric thinking.Dr. Churchland then insightfully follows with :"Of course, meanings of words do shift and change, and perhaps the meaning of "free will" should change to reflect the idea of causal vacuum."Of this statement, I submit that a claim of "causal vacuum" would be better expressed as "complex, interacting causes", and thus recognizing that "free" carries the meaning of "unconstrained." The attached semantic model illustrates the shift from "free" to perhaps "able to act at will within pre-existing constraints."Dr. Churchland in Consciousness identifies several domains which as causal-based constraints an individuals choices. The first is of course the various mechanisms in the modeling of brain function. Another is the social, cultural setting in which an individual is born.But she also describes the brain functions that provides the a model for moving from being totally determined, to incremental steps in the direction less contained choices.To model this multiple, interacting causality, I submit, there is a more nuanced representation than the traditional binary, true/false method. I instead propose that the Fuzzy logic model developed within the AI community will bridge the science perspective and the Philosophical perspective.This is why Dr. Churchland is likely to be much-quoted in "Reconceptualizing Free Will and Determinism using Fuzzy Logic."
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Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2019
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Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2021
I submit for your consideration that this question is the Philosophical pivot point of Dr. Church's work. It is the Philosophical question to be resolved as human progress from faith-centric thinking to reason-centric thinking.
Dr. Churchland then insightfully follows with :
"Of course, meanings of words do shift and change, and perhaps the meaning of "free will" should change to reflect the idea of causal vacuum."
Of this statement, I submit that a claim of "causal vacuum" would be better expressed as "complex, interacting causes", and thus recognizing that "free" carries the meaning of "unconstrained." The attached semantic model illustrates the shift from "free" to perhaps "able to act at will within pre-existing constraints."
Dr. Churchland in Consciousness identifies several domains which as causal-based constraints an individuals choices. The first is of course the various mechanisms in the modeling of brain function. Another is the social, cultural setting in which an individual is born.
But she also describes the brain functions that provides the a model for moving from being totally determined, to incremental steps in the direction less contained choices.
To model this multiple, interacting causality, I submit, there is a more nuanced representation than the traditional binary, true/false method. I instead propose that the Fuzzy logic model developed within the AI community will bridge the science perspective and the Philosophical perspective.
This is why Dr. Churchland is likely to be much-quoted in "Reconceptualizing Free Will and Determinism using Fuzzy Logic."
What does the expression free will mean?
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2021
Patricia Churchland asks this question on page 183. What does the expression "free will" mean?Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2021
I submit for your consideration that this question is the Philosophical pivot point of Dr. Church's work. It is the Philosophical question to be resolved as human progress from faith-centric thinking to reason-centric thinking.
Dr. Churchland then insightfully follows with :
"Of course, meanings of words do shift and change, and perhaps the meaning of "free will" should change to reflect the idea of causal vacuum."
Of this statement, I submit that a claim of "causal vacuum" would be better expressed as "complex, interacting causes", and thus recognizing that "free" carries the meaning of "unconstrained." The attached semantic model illustrates the shift from "free" to perhaps "able to act at will within pre-existing constraints."
Dr. Churchland in Consciousness identifies several domains which as causal-based constraints an individuals choices. The first is of course the various mechanisms in the modeling of brain function. Another is the social, cultural setting in which an individual is born.
But she also describes the brain functions that provides the a model for moving from being totally determined, to incremental steps in the direction less contained choices.
To model this multiple, interacting causality, I submit, there is a more nuanced representation than the traditional binary, true/false method. I instead propose that the Fuzzy logic model developed within the AI community will bridge the science perspective and the Philosophical perspective.
This is why Dr. Churchland is likely to be much-quoted in "Reconceptualizing Free Will and Determinism using Fuzzy Logic."
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Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2019
Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2020
Top reviews from other countries
Julian Williams
Churchland writing is full of common sense, and I found this book a joy to read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2022
Piergiorgio
Un superbo saggio di filosofia morale
Reviewed in Italy on January 25, 2020
