|
I am a Strange Loop. [Philosophy/Logic Content] (pg. 6)
|
View this Thread in Original format
| RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by diggerz
that's an interesting read... |
Hey, out of curiosity - why the quote from the Descartes Wiki earlier? Not trying to sound rude at all, just genuinely curious.
:) |
|
|
| diggerz |
| quote: | Originally posted by RJT
Hofstadter essentially argues that our concept of who we are can effectively be distilled down to a series of self-referencing "loops" rooted entirely in physicality (i.e. reductionist materialism) and (so far) it seems as if he'll argue that what a soul consists of are really little more than degrees of reference.
So far I really, really like the concept of existence he is developing, as the idea that cognition, consciousness, and mentality are little more than self-referencing loops based on previous experience seems to adhere to an Occam's Razor approach to the idea of "I."
|
Well, i first approached this from a cartesian perspective. I figured you could bring in some "dualism" aswell.
hope i could share some more insight but that would require a serious sit down. |
|
|
| RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by diggerz
Well, i first approached this from a cartesian perspective. I figured you could bring in some "dualism" aswell.
|
Ah, gotcha. I'm a self-described materialist, so I probably wouldn't be too eager to bring much dualism into anything. ;)
Though I do suppose the whole macro vs. micro level discussion is a bit dualistic, I'm just careful when it comes to things like mind/body dualism. |
|
|
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by RJT
Ah, gotcha. I'm a self-described materialist, so I probably wouldn't be too eager to bring much dualism into anything. ;)
Though I do suppose the whole macro vs. micro level discussion is a bit dualistic, I'm just careful when it comes to things like mind/body dualism. |
Im a self-described bastard with a bit of arsehole thrown in. how's that for dualism? |
|
|
| RJT |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
Im a self-described bastard with a bit of arsehole thrown in. how's that for dualism? |
Different pieces of may have subtly different shades, but they're all still some kind of brown.
:p |
|
|
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by RJT
Different pieces of may have subtly different shades, but they're all still some kind of brown.
:p |
and you can't polish a turd! (they'd much prefer to be german-ed). |
|
|
| d-miurge |
cor version plz! :o
/jk
I will be interested in reading the full correspondance with Hofstadter.
How do you contact him? A message through facebook, like Jenny? "you are my father" |
|
|
| RJT |
Just through the email on his page at IU. Was really easy actually, and he got back to me quickly and at length.
:) |
|
|
| d-miurge |
| quote: | Originally posted by RJT
Just through the email on his page at IU. Was really easy actually, and he got back to me quickly and at length.
:) |
Damn that's cool. Imagine 70 years ago: "mmh, basically I just browsed the telephone directory and send a telegram to Prof. Einstein. Really easy actually. He sent me back a handwritten letter 2 months later." |
|
|
| Silky Johnson |
| quote: | Originally posted by d-miurge
Damn that's cool. Imagine 70 years ago: "mmh, basically I just browsed the telephone directory and send a telegram to Prof. Einstein. Really easy actually. He sent me back a handwritten letter 2 months later." |
Hahahah. |
|
|
| diggerz |
would be awesome to attend any lectures from Hofstadter.
note: "materialism" would be an epicurean discussion imo :) |
|
|
| Lira |
I recall reading a professor's blog in which he mentioned that he would often dedicate some time to answering e-mails from students he didn't actually know - some of them from other countries. It's not that uncommon, I reckon, as I have myself got in touch with a phonetician from another state via Orkut (which was more like Jenny's approach, although a students of hers had told her about me beforehand :p).
| quote: | Originally posted by d-miurge
Damn that's cool. Imagine 70 years ago: "mmh, basically I just browsed the telephone directory and send a telegram to Prof. Einstein. Really easy actually. He sent me back a handwritten letter 2 months later." |
:stongue:
Wittgenstein's method is still my favourite, though: he first bugged Frege and, after being by him told to get in touch with Bertrand Russell, he arrived unannounced at Russell's office, scaring the hell out of him :D
edit: Just read your paper, Rob, and I you had me at the end of the first paragraph already :p I do, however, have two things to say...
- A spotted a typo (mico-level instead of micro level, in the 5th paragraph).
- I remember you like Chomsky's theories of language, and that made me curious. To Chomsky, babies are far from being blank slates, and posits so much pre-linguistic knowledge that I wonder whether it is just a dissonant opinion (compared to yours) or something else entirely, that I've mistakenly taken to refer to the same thing.
(I'm far from being Chomskian, mind you, so if there's any common phenomenon you guys are talking about, I'm far more likely to side with the whole generative enterprise :toothless)
|
|
|
|
|
