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Galileo's Error

Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness

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Galileo's Error

Written by: Philip Goff
Narrated by: Maxwell Caulfield
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From a leading philosopher of the mind comes this lucid, provocative argument that offers a radically new picture of human consciousness--panpsychism

Understanding how brains produce consciousness is one of the great scientific challenges of our age. Some philosophers argue that consciousness is something "extra," beyond the physical workings of the brain. Others think that if we persist in our standard scientific methods, our questions about consciousness will eventually be answered. And some suggest that the mystery is so deep, it will never be solved.

In Galileo's Error, Philip Goff offers an exciting alternative that could pave the way forward. 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. Here is the first step on a new path to the final theory of human consciousness.


Cover image: Gold Beam Collision Recorded at STAR. Copyright Brookhaven National Laboratory (Creative Commons). Full image available at Flickr.com. Biological Sciences Philosophy Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Human Brain Consciousness Mathematics
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Some good ideas which areoff the expected path. Challenges convention, and presents worthwhile alternatives.

Great Read

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Fantastic "book"!!! I am awestruck... and left wanting more. I hope there will be a second part to this thought provoking read!

WOW Amazing!

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In my opinion, science is missing something with its current materialist formulation.
Howewer, panpsychism seeks to insert consciousness as the missing link without any real evidence that it is. There are spooky effects in the universe that can be experienced but this boodoesn't really flesh out why consciousness adequately describes those spooky effects.
I'd have appreciated a better description of what was being solved (or proposed to be solved) and why panpsychism fits.
The author is careful to say this isn't some new-age hippy nonsense, yet what he describes comes across as precisely that with no effort to differentiate.
Maybe I missed something.
There is a kernel of truth here, but what is proposed doesn't seem to fit the problem.

Interesting idea taken too far

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