tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post153645383688778549..comments2024-03-18T11:10:18.708-07:00Comments on dangerous idea: Supervenience theory and the reflexivity problemVictor Repperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962948073162156902noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-69709684941876967642014-08-23T06:02:53.870-07:002014-08-23T06:02:53.870-07:00"That's because it's senseless poofer..."<i>That's because it's senseless poofery/magick -- the purpose of which is to disguise the absurdity entailed by atheism that minds do not exist.</i>" ... A lot of it is smoke and mirrors, and fanciful terminology, yeah. But I don't think that atheism is relevant to its purposes. In fact, given what little I know about supervenience theory, I don't see any inherent conflict between it and faith.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12030785676230758243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-42031726769316236172014-08-23T03:11:55.581-07:002014-08-23T03:11:55.581-07:00"this supervenience stuff confuses me."
..."<i>this supervenience stuff confuses me.</i>"<br /><br />That's because it's senseless poofery/magick -- the purpose of which is to disguise the absurdity entailed by atheism that minds do not exist.IlĂonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15339406092961816142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-561821134909694722014-08-22T05:29:48.832-07:002014-08-22T05:29:48.832-07:00*this supervenience stuff confuses me.*this supervenience stuff confuses me.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12030785676230758243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-81995012913484929522014-08-22T05:28:53.494-07:002014-08-22T05:28:53.494-07:00Supervenience theory is needlessly confusing. I ha...Supervenience theory is needlessly confusing. I hate it, but I'll take a shot at the problem today anyways.<br /><br />A supervenience relation is a modal relation, and modal relations are metaphysical, epistemological, or nomological, etc. If we need to provide an account for why a supervenience relation obtains, the account needs to be given in the appropriate modality. So, if the supervenience relation between <i>A</i> and <i>B</i> is metaphysical, we are giving the account in terms of metaphysics. E.g., if a thought <i>x</i> supervenes upon a neurological state <i>y</i>, we would account for the supervenience relation in terms of the metaphysical properties of <i>x</i> and <i>y</i>. As far as I understand it, supervenience isn't <i>itself</i> a relation between two sets of properties, but like I said, this supervenience confuses me. I could be wrong.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12030785676230758243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-63137011759910796262014-08-21T20:07:21.293-07:002014-08-21T20:07:21.293-07:00Ah, the slippery slope (upwards, I think) once we ...Ah, the slippery slope (upwards, I think) once we leave reductive physicalism behind :)Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12533263841520213358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-43758398068134766382014-08-21T20:01:35.462-07:002014-08-21T20:01:35.462-07:00On the other hand, you could expand the physical t...On the other hand, you could expand the physical to include souls, angels, and God. There have to be parameters, but what should those be?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09742181029196672069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-373994111113490022014-08-21T19:47:35.617-07:002014-08-21T19:47:35.617-07:00So much of the supervenience debate depends on wha...So much of the supervenience debate depends on what is "physical." The issue is similar to what Paul Churchland once told me in San Diego years ago, that he can be a physicalist and still a Platonist.<br /><br />Are physical laws physical? Not for some I guess. Are the laws of supervenience physical laws? Some might say yes. Does that make those laws physical? <br /><br />Depends on what is considered "physical."Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12533263841520213358noreply@blogger.com