Alasdair Craig

Use-case for AI as a writer. A quick way to exorcise cliche and small-c conservatism: after you've written your first draft, ask AI to write something on the same topic; compare your draft to the AI piece, and cut everything from your draft that appears in the AI piece. #writing #books #AI

Delighted to hear this - I find Substack is increasingly like X or Instagram, and not a good place for undistracted reading. Not tried Ghost but it sounds promising

The radical independent thinking in Chinese philosophy | Justin Tiwald

We often caricature Chinese Confucianism as prizing conformism & obedience to tradition. But Justin Tiwald shows that independence of thought has long been central to Confucian ethics - iai.tv/articles/the... #philsky #ethics #China #Confucianism #philosophy @iai.tv

If we look too hard for reality, we’ll fall into a black hole | Daniel Carney

The key to quantum gravity may lie in understanding the fundamental limits of observation argues Berkeley National Lab physicist Daniel Carney today for @iai.tv - iai.tv/articles/if-... #physics #philsci #quantum

The divide between belief and emotion is an illusion | Miriam McCormick

We like to think belief & emotion belong in different boxes – one ruled by evidence & truth, the other by feelings and moods. This is a mistake argues philosopher Miriam McCormick for @iai.tv today: Belief is an emotion – iai.tv/articles/the... #philsky #philmind #psychology

Have been waiting for a paper that does this!

I think he’s saying that just because we haven’t found the explanation doesn’t mean there isn’t one to find - we should keep looking rather than calling it emergence and calling off the hunt

Emergence explains nothing and is bad science | John Heil

John Heil on why talk of "emergence" by scientists and philosophers is unhelpful – iai.tv/articles/eme... #philsky #philsci #physics #biology #philmind

I edit many public-facing science articles & I've learned that it's much harder to present biology in an accessible way to non-specialists than physics. It always seems to involve way more hard-to-paraphrase specialist vocabulary & complex details that can't be omitted #philsci #physics #biology

Ooh, just found this beautiful Robert Louis Stevenson edition by Edinburgh’s own @typewronger.bsky.social. I grew up at Murrayfield, so the contents are enticing #booksky #books #Scotland

Awake! | Hurst Publishers A new look at the life, works and enduring relevance of William Blake, a deeply spiritual and politically radical figure.

@askwilliamblake.bsky.social's brilliant book on William Blake has just been published by @hurstpublishers.bsky.social – www.hurstpublishers.com/book/awake/

"Blake perceived that a culture which denied this vitality and grew more in love with generalizing would fall out of love with the direct encounter. In time, the map would fascinate more than the landscape; the screen image more than the real thing." – @askwilliamblake.bsky.social

Heisenberg meets William Blake: The danger of science's "single vision" | Mark Vernon

Werner Heisenberg meets William Blake in Mark Vernon's new article for @iai.tv – Physicist & poet alike warn of the danger of viewing the world only through idealising models, losing the vitality of direct encounters with reality. bit.ly/47eI8u3 #philsky #physics #poetry #philsci

Reality is a creation of consciousness | Karl Friston

A write-up of my interview with Karl Friston can be read here. Dreaming, selfhood, Markov blankets, consciousness, known illusions, and ofc perception all discussed - iai.tv/articles/rea... #philsky #psychology #neuroscience #cogsci #perception

I read some remarks by Karl Friston on attention which I found intriguing, but I've sadly lost the reference - but he's surely written in detail about attention somewhere!

Organisms are processes, not things, with Wahida Khandker We tend to think of the world as divided into bits and things. From microscopic atoms to massive stars to everyday objects like books and chairs, the view that the world is carved up is deeply embedde...

Panpsychism, Bergson, and renovating our concepts of the environment (it's made of processes rather than objects) – my interview with Wahida Khandker is up at @iai.tv now. iai.tv/video/organi... #philsky #environment

Consciousness can't be uploaded: Why digital immortality is a metaphysical mirage | William Egginton

Consciousness can't be uploaded and digital immortality is a metaphysical mirage – so argues Bill Egginton today for @iai.tv iai.tv/articles/con... #philsky #consciousness #philmind

In some cases, sure, but that's arguably far from the rule. You can get into a flow state while running or washing the dishes or participating in a conversation. None of these skills take conscious, rational work to possess - one learns them in childhood, without thinking about it.

The article directly answers this question!

Languages are social tools, not windows onto reality | Vuk Vukotić

"When language is utilized solely for the purpose of communication, speakers often do not perceive 'languages' or 'dialects' as distinct entities at all." Vuk Vukotić today for @iai.tv, on the artificiality of distinctions between languages - iai.tv/articles/lan... #Linguistics #philsky

Ah OK. I don't think LLMs are conscious, but I also don't think it's obvious that they're not. I think the main outcome of training in phil of mind should be seeing how ignorant we are about what's necessary for consciousness. If you think the answer's obvious, you've misunderstood the question.

What do you mean by 'duped' here? Like, they give some credence to the idea that some actually existing LLMs have phenomenal consciousness?

Another day, another recommendation of a book about befriending octopuses #booksky

I don’t find what you’ve cited there to be very good evidence that LLMs empathise

This is one of the great mysterious of consciousness ofc, but I sometimes wonder if maybe it’s necessary for empathy & so helps with cooperation

China’s radical philosophy of action and the self | Brian Bruya Explore how Chinese philosophy redefines human action as a spontaneous process in harmony with nature, challenging Western ideals of rational choice.

Forget free will as it’s defined in the Western philosophical tradition. Philosopher Brian Bruya turns to Daoist classics like the Zhuangzi to argue that the most profound human action happens without rational reflection or deliberation bit.ly/41DWAsl #philsky #mindsky

Neuroscience needs a new paradigm: the brain is not a machine | Nicolee Rust

Neuroscientist @nicolecrust.bsky.social argues here that by treating brains as complex systems, neuroscientists are finally making progress on mental health treatment, including utilising psychedelics to enhance brain plasticity as part of therapy - bit.ly/4lkS0pR #philmind #neuroskyence #NeuroSky

The myth of modern stoicism: Everything doesn't happen for a reason | Tracy Llanera

iai.tv/articles/eve...

Is there any prospect of this becoming a first-line treatment instead of drugs, rather than adjunctive or only for those who fail on drugs?

It's absurd to keep reprinting the same story, w/ the same projections which continually get proven wrong, w/ no critical engagement - just yet more gawping at the child prodigy genius tech Übermensch. Why not publish something about GPT5's continual delays? The diminishing returns of scaling? Etc..