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This book discusses two of the oldest and hardest problems in both science and philosophy: What is matter?, and What is mind? A reason for tackling both problems in a single book is that two of the most influential views in modern philosophy are that the universe is mental (idealism), and that the everything real is material (materialism). Most of the thinkers who espouse a materialist view of mind have obsolete ideas about matter, whereas those who claim that science supports idealism have not explained how the universe could have existed before humans emerged. Besides, both groups tend to ignore the other levels of existence-chemical, biological, social, and technological. If such levels and the concomitant emergence processes are ignored, the physicalism/spiritualism dilemma remains unsolved, whereas if they are included, the alleged mysteries are shown to be problems that science is treating successfully.
List of contents
Matter.- Philosophy as Worldview.- Classical Matter: Bodies and Fields.- Quantum Matter: Weird But Real.- General Concept of Matter: To Be Is To Become.- Emergence and Levels.- Naturalism.- Materialism.- Mind.- The Mind-Body Problem.- Minding Matter: The Plastic Brain.- Mind and Society.- Cognition, Consciousness, and Free Will.- Brain and Computer: The Hardware/Software Dualism.- Knowledge: Genuine and Bogus.- Appendices.- Appendix A: Objects.- Appendix B: Truths.
Summary
This book discusses two of the oldest and hardest problems in both science and philosophy: What is matter?, and What is mind? A reason for tackling both problems in a single book is that two of the most influential views in modern philosophy are that the universe is mental (idealism), and that the everything real is material (materialism). Most of the thinkers who espouse a materialist view of mind have obsolete ideas about matter, whereas those who claim that science supports idealism have not explained how the universe could have existed before humans emerged. Besides, both groups tend to ignore the other levels of existence—chemical, biological, social, and technological. If such levels and the concomitant emergence processes are ignored, the physicalism/spiritualism dilemma remains unsolved, whereas if they are included, the alleged mysteries are shown to be problems that science is treating successfully.
Additional text
From the reviews:
“Bunge provides a masterful survey of key ideas in physics and conceptions of matter including theories of relativity, quantum physics and thermodynamics, inter alia. Every page is an encyclopaedic survey of concepts, theories and their history and, therefore, the book defies easy summary. … Bunge’s belligerent, take-no-hostage style is a welcome change from the usual passionless treatises on these subjects. Bunge’s no-nonsense approach is to be commended … . the book is precisely because it engages deeply with most interesting intellectual issues.” (Peter Slezak, Science & Education, November, 2011)
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From the reviews:
"Bunge provides a masterful survey of key ideas in physics and conceptions of matter including theories of relativity, quantum physics and thermodynamics, inter alia. Every page is an encyclopaedic survey of concepts, theories and their history and, therefore, the book defies easy summary. ... Bunge's belligerent, take-no-hostage style is a welcome change from the usual passionless treatises on these subjects. Bunge's no-nonsense approach is to be commended ... . the book is precisely because it engages deeply with most interesting intellectual issues." (Peter Slezak, Science & Education, November, 2011)
