RPD12.8: Can naturalism account for qualia?
Ben Schuldt from the St. Louis Ethical Society (www.ethicalstl.org debated Carla Mae Streeter, Professor of Systematic Theology, from the Aquinas Institute of Theology (ai.edu on the true nature of mind. Naturalism (en.wikipedia.org ) is the worldview that (basically) only things made of the Standard Model in physics exist (or are what we know, en.wikipedia.org There are no irreducible mental substances. Qualia is the philosophical term for “sense experience.” en.wikipedia.org plato.stanford.edu So is the brain a biological computer or is there some immaterial, supernatural component as well? The heart of the mind/body debate (en.wikipedia.org between physicalists and dualists is the nature of qualia. The framing of this debate is based off of the popular counter in religious philosophy when evidence of the supernatural is demanded by critics of religion like the New Atheists (en.wikipedia.org Qualia is a popular “go to” argument to point out a ready example of the supernatural in action. Both the student and professional debates at Skepticon 2 (Ben Schuldt participated in that student debate: www.youtube.com brought up a number of issues between Christianity and atheism, but both eventually funneled into this one issue that never really got proper treatment. So this debate is meant to follow up and focus in on that topic.
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Creating Synthetic DNA – Drew Endy
Complete video at: fora.tv Stanford biologist Drew Endy discusses exponential growth in the field of bioengineering. Endy explains how scientists are now able to synthesize strands of DNA in a process similar to how computer engineers write computer code. —– Biologist Drew Endy debates researcher and historian Jim Thomas on the future of bioengineering. While Endy discusses the potential benefits of being able to “program” DNA, Thomas advocates caution, citing the dangers of untested technology. Drew Endy is a synthetic biologist. He was a junior fellow for 3 years and later an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Engineering at MIT. As of September 2008, he continued his research and teaching as an assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Stanford University. With Thomas Knight, Gerald Jay Sussman, and other researchers at MIT, he is working on synthetic biology and the engineering of standardized biological components, devices, and parts, collectively known as BioBricks. Endy is one of several founders of the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, and invented an abstraction hierarchy for integrated genetic systems. Endy is also known for his opposition to limited ownership and support of free access to genetic information. He has been one of the early promoters of open source biology, and helped start the Biobricks Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that will work to support open-source biology. He is also a co-founder of …
Video Rating: 4 / 5
