Science and Nescience
In the first two lectures of this seminar, Thompson reviews questions involving the brain and the conscious self. He considers four points in particular: 1) qualia and the subjective properties of experience, 2) attempts to explain consciousness within a reductionist framework, 3) Cartesian analyses of the dualistic interaction between a non-physical mind and the physical body, and 4) empirical evidence that appears to challenge orthodox scientific explanations.