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G.E. Moore, an English philosopher, was famous for his simplistic “here is a hand” argument for a commonsensical refutation of skepticism. Before lectures of his Proof of an External World, he would raise each hand, remarking “here is a hand, here is another hand, skepticism refuted”, suggesting the intuitive nature of the observation and our phenomenal experience of hands was refutation enough.
An interesting, related anecdote passed along from my professor involved a specific lecture where Moore reportedly referenced a door in the back of the hall as another obviously real entity (equivalent to his hands). It was only at the end of the lecture that a participant commented that the door in question was actually only part of a larger mural and therefore wasn’t real. Thus, despite the apparent certainty and immediacy of our senses, there remains the possibility (however small) that we’re not getting things quite right.
How much importance should skeptical hypotheses be given? Is their affront to our common sense ideas of the world sufficient to refute them?
Archive
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260.
Conscious Conversation: Philosophy
Daniel Black, author of Erectlocution, was kind enough to chat with me one day and we had a great discussion – have a listen.
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260.
The Stuff in Between
I’m actually almost normal when not agonizing over robot production details, and quite a bit has happened since I last wrote an update. First, I’ve finally graduated. I had a bit of a...
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260.
The Ethics of AI: Part Three
Is it ethical (or possible) to constrain intelligent life? This part of the argument involves what we think it means to be human, and whether creating and adjusting those criteria in an AI affects...
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260.
The Ethics of AI: Part Two
Is it ethical to allow humanity to continue, or to replace our species with machines? This is getting tougher. Why does humanity deserve to exist? The recorded history of the experiences of Homo...
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260.
The Ethics of AI: Part One
Is it ethical to create consciousness? In this discussion, I will make the assumption that we can be assured these beings are “personally” intelligent (i.e. just like us). As we see in nature,...
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260.
The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
I am beginning a series exploring some ethical concerns associated with the development of artificial intelligence. Neurobiological evidence points firmly to the brain as the source of human...
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260.
The Atheist's Purpose
As a lot of the content on this site suggests, I’m an atheist. Being an atheist can be a bit contentious, as many find the lack of an explicit purpose or codified moral laws wrong. So, I’d like...
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260.
Conscious Conversation: Computation
Dr. Rapaport is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University at Buffalo with research interests in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence,...
