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Sunday 8 February 2015

Blocking Enactivism

This is supposedly an old photo of Ned Block, but since the website was entirely in Korean except for "Ned Block," there's really no way to know.  For those of you who may not be familiar with Ned Block, here is his wikipedia page.  The reason I am posting Professor Block this evening is because we are venturing into embodiment and enaction territories, and Block questions many of the assumptions and interpretations made by Hutchins and those cited in our readings this week (i.e. Varela, NoĆ«, O'Regan, etc.). Here he is in a video explaining why he thinks these concepts are wrong.  Also, there is a lovely publication of his debate with O'Regan on such matters following the release of O'Regan's book Why Red Doesn't Feel Like a Bell: Understanding the Feel of Consciousness.


It should be known that I do not necessarily agree with Block - I simply wish to bring awareness to lines of argument against certain embodied and enactive approaches.  Although I haven't finished reading their back-and-forth publications, I wanted to post this enough in advance for others to perhaps read it too, or at least watch the video (he seems to explain himself quite clearly).  That way, his ideas might be able to contribute to our discussion on Wednesday.  Also please feel free to comment on this post any thoughts you may have regarding this hot philosophical debate as I know many of us are still working out where we stand on these difficult issues.  Solidarity!

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