Author Topic: Ghost town around here--I need a book suggestion  (Read 195 times)

RomanJoe

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Ghost town around here--I need a book suggestion
« on: February 01, 2020, 12:29:52 pm »
I'm looking for a book that looks at reductive materialism, its origins, and various possible alternatives. I've really appreciated Feser's Aristotle's Revenge and Nagel's Mind and Cosmos. Anything to add to these?

Ouros

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Re: Ghost town around here--I need a book suggestion
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2020, 02:26:56 pm »
Why not reads its proponents? Never read Daniel Dennett, but I suppose "Consciousness explained" is important from the POV of eliminative materialists.

RomanJoe

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Re: Ghost town around here--I need a book suggestion
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2020, 03:52:11 pm »
Funny thing is that I considered reading more of his stuff after I bumped into him the other day in public. Asked if he was the philosopher Daniel Dennett and he confirmed it. Did a little research and it turns out he lives in the town adjacent to mine about fifteen minutes from my house--I had no idea.

Dominik

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Re: Ghost town around here--I need a book suggestion
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2020, 12:35:00 pm »
Well for the proponents, maybe really read Rosenberg. I really have to examine how much a naturalist is forced to follow him, because if he argues persuasively, then I´d claim it is the best reductio ad absurdum against naturalism (Michael Reas "World without Design" is also pretty good). Another proponent would perhaps be Thomas Metzinger.
I´m currently reading some Stephen Mumford, not really naturalist, but atheist enough (lol).

Arguing FOR naturalism convincingly is really hard, critiquing theistic arguments seems way easier. Best example of that was Mackies endorsement of Dawkins "The Selfish Gene". The debate between J.L. Mackie vs Mary Midgley on that topic is really worth to read.