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Alasdair Craig

@alasdaircraig.bsky.social

540 followers 590 following 160 posts

Philosophy/Consciousness/History/Books Editor, Institute of Art & Ideas – @iai.tv Freelance for Hurst Pub – @hurstpublishers.bsky.social Instructor, Philosophy of Mind – Horizoninspires.com DPhil, Philosophy, University of Oxford 📍Edinburgh, Scotland

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · 12h

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

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

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · 10h

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

Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · 12h

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

Awake! | Hurst Publishers

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

www.hurstpublishers.com

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · 12h

"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

Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · 12h

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

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · 20d

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

Reality is a creation of consciousness | Karl Friston

iai.tv

Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · 29d

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!

Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Sep 4

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

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...

iai.tv

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Sep 1

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

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

iai.tv

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 27

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.

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 27

The article directly answers this question!

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 27

"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

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

iai.tv

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 21

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.

Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 21

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

Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 16

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

Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 15

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

Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 15

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

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 14

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

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.

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 12

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

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

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 11

iai.tv/articles/eve...

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

iai.tv

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 4

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?

Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 4

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..

Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 4

My interview with Jessica Frazier, professor of theology at Oxford University and fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, is now available. We discuss Indian philosophy, monism, and the nature of the self, among other things - iai.tv/video/indian... #philsky #theology #Indianphilosophy

Indian philosophy and the search for unity with Jessica Frazier

In our everyday lives we act as though we are all separate individuals, but is this really the case? Jessica Frazer argues reality is ultimately unified. She argues this philosophy can change the way ...

iai.tv

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Aug 3

Illusionism is very contrary to common sense, even by the lights of most of its advocates!

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Jul 31

ANY theory of consciousness will have bizarre implications that contravene our commonsense picture of the world, argues @eschwitz.bsky.social for @iai.tv: bit.ly/3U3pVbF #philsky #psychsky #philmind #philosophyofmind

Consciousness, cosmology, and the collapse of common sense | Eric Schwitzgebel

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Alasdair Craig @alasdaircraig.bsky.social · Jul 27

My grandpa had a story about how the first time some of his friends ate a banana, they ate the skin, not realising you could peel it. I just read the same story in a book about an early-20th C. Greek immigrant to the US, presented with a banana for the 1st time. I wonder how common this mistake was!