Does Science Give Us Truth?: Conceptual Relativism
Conceptual relativism in many ways parallels the coherence theory of truth. The idea is that any representation of reality will always be influenced by the information available. There undoubtedly will be opposing points of view that do not reconcil...
Free Will
Philosopher John Searle argues that even if all our behavior is determined and we don't have determinism, there's no way to actually live according to that conviction. Quoting Immanuel Kant, Professor Searle states that, "...You can't think away you...
Does Science Give Us Truth?: Correspondence Theory of Truth and Scientific Realism, The
The correspondence theory of truth is considered the default position about truth. If a statement is true it is because it corresponds to some feature, some reality in the world independent of our ideas abut it. An approach to science called scienti...
The Rediscovery of the Mind
Philosopher John Searle says that many philosophers are mistaken in the way they view the mind and the body, noting that they rely on old vocabulary and fail to consider how the mind actually works in real life.
What Is Philosophy?
Philosopher John Searle provides an overview of philosophy, noting that it doesn't have a clear definition. As part of the discussion, Professor Searle contrasts philosophical questions and scientific questions.
The Turing Test
Philosopher John Searle talks about the Turing test, based on a paper written by Alan Turing in 1950, in which a test was devised to measure whether a computer could simulate the working of a human brain.
The Irreducibility of Consciousness
Philosopher John Searle talks about reduction, and details a number of the scientific phenomena that are what he calls "textbook models of reduction." Some of these include color, light, and the heat of a gas. Professor Searle goes on to say that it...
Social Reality
Philosopher John Searle explains the difference between institutional facts, like money, property, marriage, and nation states, and what he calls "brute facts," like the number of electrons in a hydrogen atom, or the snow atop Mt. Everest.
The Realism vs. Anti-Realism Debate (Part 2)
Philosopher John Searle talks about the anti-realist view that we never actually perceive the real world and instead only perceive our own perceptions of that world. Professor Searle argues that this is incorrect, that we do, in fact, have direct pe...
The Realism vs. Anti-Realism Debate (Part 1)
Philosopher John Searle talks about what he calls a persistent error among western philosophers since the Greeks--namely, the notion that the external world is not real in and of itself, but instead is dependent on human minds and human consciousnes...