Consciousness and Objective Reality 2024-25 Series: The Mind-Body Problem

Wednesday, April 30th, 10 a.m. Pacific Time
Online-only event. Zoom link:
https://zoom.us/j/99505485799?pwd=fYOUh2gCTEuDgP8JlEq3ey2dvTr9Ip.1

THOMAS NAGEL
Professor of Philosophy and Law, Emeritus, New York University

The mind-body problem grew out of the scientific revolution, which gave us a conception of the physical world as a spatio-temporal order describable in quantitative terms. This was possible only because all apparently qualitative and purposive features of the world were reinterpreted as appearances in the mind. But how is the mind related to the physical world? Can it be shown to be part of that world after all, through identification with some aspect of the physical organism? The main obstacle to such a reduction of the mental to the physical is the irreducible subjectivity of consciousness, which cannot be captured by any objective physical description. This means that there is more to reality than can be described by the physical sciences, and we need an expanded conception of the natural order.

ABOUT THE EVENT

This lecture will be accessible to an interdisciplinary audience. Caltech, Stanford, MIT, IMICS, Berkeley and University of Arizona members from all divisions are welcome to join. Select questions from the Q&A window will be answered after the lecture.

ABOUT THE SERIES

The Consciousness & Reality colloquium series promotes interdisciplinary investigations on mind, cognition, consciousness, and the nature of reality. Recordings of previous C&R colloquia can be found on the Caltech and IMICS YouTube channels and on www.imics.org/seminars.