Galileo's Error
by Philip Goff · first published 2019
7mentions
3recommended by
7HN commenters
2019–2026first – last mentioned
43% recommend43% neutral14% critical
"Rooted in an analysis of the philosophical underpinnings of modern science and based on the early twentieth-century work of Arthur Eddington and Bertrand Russell, Goff makes the case for panpsychism, a theory which posits that consciousness is not confined to biological entities but is a fundamental feature of all physical matter—from subatomic particles to the human brain. In Galileo's Error, he has provided the first step on a new path to the final theory of human consciousness."--Dust jacket flap.
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…think panpsychism just needs to be explained well and probably most people would be onboard with the idea or at least comfortable accepting it. I thought it was a little wild at first but after reading "Galileo's Error" by Phillip Goff it seems ok. Panspychism it self covers so many theories too. In my personal experience psychedelic use seemed to almost solidify materialism for me. The idea that reality, your self…
on “Psychedelics alter metaphysical beliefs” ↗This is good reasoning, but from where did you get the requirements? After having read Annaka Harris’ “Conscious” and Philip Goff’s “Galileo’s Error”, it seems plausible to me (and the most logically simple resolution) that panpsychism explains the universe. I.e., in the vain search for the place to draw “the line” between what animals or systems…
on “Could the cosmos, in fact, be conscious?” ↗…some books that begin to introduce these ideas. On the topic of consciousness, less academic and more slated towards general audience: Reality+ by David Chalmers and Mind and Cosmos by Thomas Nagel and Galileo's Error by Phillip Goff will give you and interesting gamut of ideas. The thing about arguments in philosophy is that they span from a very old web of thought that has been refined into very sharp positions…
on “No, Artificial Intelligence is not Conscious - Ted Chiang” ↗I've recently been reading Galileo's Error by Philip Goff which covers a lot of this ground (he's a proponent of panpsychism). Quite an interesting look into the various arguments though I thought (I previously had no background in this type of…
on “The unending quest to explain consciousness” ↗Galileo's Error is philosopher Philip Goff's book stating his version of panpsychism - pretty impressive to have 20 or so academics interested enough in your idea to take potshots at it in a special journal issue! -…
on “Essays on ‘Galileo’s Error’” ↗The purpose of Goff's choice for the title of his book Galileo's Error is explained in the introduction: that Galileo limited science to only things that are quantifiable, and completely ignores qualitative factors. Note the common etymology with the word qualia. Some way…
on “Is Consciousness Part of the Fabric of the Universe?” ↗…vicinity) - and that is a good thing - but answering is the clever part. Strangely, some philosophers seem to shy away from answering. Philip Goff, for example, whose forays into popularizing include "Galileo's Error", merely declares that consciousness is fundamental, without explaining the second thing about what that means, and he is not, apparently, at all interested in following through; in fact, he seems to…
on “We Are Made of Waves” ↗