Noam Chomsky and Pat Churchland on Mysteries and Problems in Science

This video begins with Pat Churchland saying that deeming aspects of the world inherently "mysterious" is anti-scientific and unjustified.

Noam Chomsky responds that any being with a cognitive structure is limited by that structure, so there will necessarily be some facts that we are incapable of knowing because of our limitations; these facts are "mysteries," and contrast with "problems," which are knowable facts we just haven't found out about.

Chomsky suggests that consciousness may be a mystery rather than a problem, and he has said similar things about free will. I'm not sure if Churchland is referring to Chomsky in her references to "old-fashioned philosophers."

I think Chomsky is clearly right about the existence of mysteries, though it's an open question (as he says) whether consciousness specifically is a mystery or merely a problem.

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• noam
• chomsky
• consciousness
• philosophy
• mind
• pat
• churchland
• mystery
• science

[HyperEntity111]

A brilliant contribution from Chomsky. The contrast between his subtle analysis and the raving bullshit rants of Mrs Churchland is stark.

[rabbifilms]

@cryptickripke I noticed Chomsky continued to speak through the end of the video. Is there anymore to what he says? And if so, where can I find it and where this discussion from? Thank you!!

[Keinlicht]

Hitchens contended that chomsky's saying the real properties of the human mind cannot be discovered in principle.

I just.. don't know how one could interpret it like that.

[MaxwellGreene1]

I find the use of the word 'stark' two comments below both shallow and pedantic. MMMmmmhmmm, shallow and pedantic.

[ThisOneIsTaken]

@HyperEntity111

Mind you, I believe it's likely we'll eventually explain consciou experience (although, let's be honest, we are a pretty long way from it.) but P. Churchland is quite frankly embarassing - more of a preacher than a philosopher.

[gandolflink]

The intellectual mind is really like an overgrown arm of government , trying to control things that are best regulated by themselves. without balance any system fails in some way, and this is true in Humans as well. intelligence does not make one happy, or healthy, or able to be compatible with others, indeed the opposite is often the case. disliking someone because of ideas based in intellect is just one example. How silly, what do any of us really know? Consider the wholeness of totality.

[gandolflink]

yes we have a limit to mind.mind is by definition limited. it is made up of limits. everything is distinguished in the mind by contrasts. Basically finding values between dark and light will never add up to the real gold. The true cognation of nature, that realization of the wholeness of the quantum moment. what is that? Just being there. Why does this offend the mind? Because the mind is so important! at least that is what the mind says.

[12pepap]

Limit is necessary condition for knowledge. This means that we can not know anything.

[BrigitteAbbendis]

I'm an atheist materialist and I'm fairly sure that consciousness is a direct product of the brain (or at least the illusion of contiguous consciousness, if we accept Dennett's interpretation). Hell, I'm actually hoping to do a linguistic study for my dissertation with that assumption as a central tenet. But my heckles are raised a bit when "consciousness" is derided. For individuals that aren't spiritual, it's the prism through which we filter all reality. From Pope to post-modern, no sanctity!