All 325+ Competing Consciousness Theories In One Video.

I am so thrilled and thankful to be able to listen to this conversation.

Great dialogue. The discussion and the mention of the 325+ theories of consciousness reminded me of the old Sufi story about the blind men and the elephant. When they heard that an elephant had come to town, they decided to visit it. Each one got hold of a different part of the elephant and proceeded to make complete different descriptions depending on what part of the elephant they held on to. Some described as a column if they held on to a leg. Others described it as a long rope if they held on to the tail and so and so forth. Obviously they could not see the whole picture because of their own limitations😮😊

Really appreciated them being so open to all these theories and not just wanting to impose their one personal views into the discussion

Brilliant overview! As an amateur philosopher of mind this is the jackpot! The nuances and qualifications in R. L. Kuhn's comments were as powerful as the depth and breadth of his knowledge - his approach is itself highly instructive. I will now take a deeper look at Closer To Truth! I'm grateful to Essentia Foundation's ongoing commitment to get this sort of content out there - this strikes me as an important step in an age where issues in the philosophy of mind are emerging as culture changing narratives before our eyes!

It would be superb if someone would compile an in depth book of all of these theories along with graphs, pictures, diagrams, and other relevant or thought provoking images. This most excellent.

The scientific method investigating consciousness is like the theoretical university lecture about climbing. You can intellectually know all about climbing, but this does not at all protect you from dramatically collapsing like a bundle of fear when setting your feet even a couple meters up an exposed cliff.

Sincere appreciation to you from Afghanistan. I'm always fascinated with how English language has become capable (by giving it more space and contributions of non-native and native speakers) of describing things/phenomena descriptively, yet even the most intellectual figures of different fields struggle using it in a way to get their experiences, thoughts, understanding, and perceptions to others as I watched the interview. This interview was super amazing because I witnessed scientific humility all across the interview from both the interviewee and the interviewer. I've watched almost all the interviews this channel has posted, and I appreciate this one more than previous ones where the scientific humilty was represented well. 325 theories seem to be insufficient in the future though ;)

Robert’s paper is awesome for anyone who wants to learn about the consciousness question. I’ve listened to Closer to Truth for years and couldn’t think of a better person to undertake such a huge project.

At 1:36:50 Kuhn notes the proliferation of theories and how each makes a contribution. N. Katherine Hayles, in her book, Chaos Bound, explains how the "cultural field" becomes highly charged with certain concepts, i.e., consciousness here. And the apparent chaos of having 325 different theories is necessary "noise" in the concept, especially in its early iterations. The noise is where new information is found. According to the science of complexity, aka non-linear systems, the more chaotic it appears, the more [new] information it contains. Deep below the surface there are "feedback loops, recursive symmetries, strange attractors, etc." Kuhn did a great service by painting the consciousness landscape for us, all in one tableau, albeit in broad brushstrokes. Some of these theories overlap, and some can operate on one level, while others operate simultaneously on another level. Jaynes was my thesis advisor at Princeton, at the time when he was publishing The Breakdown ... the Bicameral Mind." He proudly proclaimed that he was "painting in broad brushstrokes" as well. It's a theory of how we gradually internalized some subconscious processes that we previously externalized (the little birdie on our shoulder may represent the inner voice). His theory of the "origin of consciousness" is compatible with any number of the other 324 theories. My novel, Divine Madness - The Quantum Mechanics of the Soul (google it), is about how we are still at a stage where we externalize the divine within, and also about how chaos theory holds the key to unlock the mysteries of consciousness, the soul, and the divine. As a caveat, this quote by Jung (The Red Book Reader's Edition, pages 148-150): I am stunned, but I want to be stunned, since I have sworn to you, my soul, to trust you even if you lead me through madness . . . It is unquestionable: if you enter into the world of the soul, you are like a madman, and a doctor would consider you to be sick. Carl Jung

This work is extremely valuable for anyone interested in understanding theories of consciousness. Thank you.