The Mind and the Machine by Matthew T Dickerson

The Mind and the Machine by Matthew T Dickerson

Are humans just complex biochemical machines, mere physical parts of a causally closed materialist universe? Are we approaching the so-called 'Singularity', when human consciousness can (and will) be downloaded into computers? Or is there more to the human person - something that might be known as 'soul' or 'spirit'? As this book makes clear, the answers to these questions have profound implications to topics such as heroism, creativity, ecology, and the possibility of reason and science. In exploring this important topic, Dickerson engages the ideas of some well-known twentieth- and twentyfirst-century espousers of physicalism, including the philosopher Daniel Dennett, the biologist Richard Dawkins, the futurist-engineer Raymond Kurzweil, the psychologist B.F. Skinner, and the mathematician-philosopher Bertrand Russell. Through a careful reading of their works, Dickerson not only provides a fivefold critique of physicalism but also offers a Christian alternative in the form of 'integrative dualism', which affirms the existence of both a physical and a spiritual reality without diminishing the goodness or importance of either, and acknowledges that humans are spiritual as well as bodily persons.

Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Triumph in the Lord of the Rings and From Homer to Harry Potter: A Handbook on Myth and Fantasy are among the publications written by Matthew Dickerson, a professor and member of Middlebury College's environmental studies program.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781498203845
ISBN 10	1498203841
Title	The Mind and the Machine
Author	Matthew T Dickerson
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Year published	2016-07-29
Number of pages	242
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.