Alex O'Connor argues that consciousness is baked into the fundamental nature of reality.
Should we give up on the idea that the brain produces consciousness?
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We tend to think of consciousness as something the brain produces, a byproduct of atoms arranged in the right way. But Alex O'Connor, formerly known as CosmicSkeptic and host of the Within Reason podcast, argues that consciousness may be more fundamental than that. Materialism can't explain how purely physical processes give rise to subjective experience. And the analogies emergence theorists use presuppose consciousness in order for them to work. His answer is to see consciousness as baked into the fundamental nature of reality.
#consciousness #reality #brain
Alex O’Connor is a YouTuber, public speaker, writer, and host of the Within Reason Podcast. He first began posting videos to his YouTube channel "CosmicSkeptic" before taking his degree in philosophy and theology at St John's College, Oxford. He has since grown his following to over 1.5 million subscribers with his rigorous yet accessible philosophy videos.
O’Connor has appeared on television programmes such as Piers Morgan Uncensored, BBC Sunday Morning Live, and Channel 4 News. He has debated philosophy, religion, free speech, and more with leading thinkers Slavoj Žižek, Richard Dawkins, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and more.
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0:00 Intro
0:54 How did you get interested in theology, and when did this shift into making content online?
1:51 What is your philosophical world-view?
5:16 How does panpsychism relate to the idea of a God?
9:15 Do mystical and psychedelic experiences provide evidence for God?
12:07 Could psychedelic drugs have influenced early Christianity thought?
14:57 Is there something inherent and exclusive to the Christian story that has allowed it capture billions of minds
18:07 What do you think of the mystical interpretations of Christian text?
19:34 Do you disagree with Nietzsche's claim that Christianity gave the world its first dominant, codified morality
23:06 What keeps you from falling into nihilism?
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