2 research outputs found

    Are qualia computations or substances?

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    Computationalism treats minds as computations. It hasn't explained how our quite similar sensory circuits encode our quite different qualia { nor how these circuits encode the binding of the dierent qualia into unied perceptions. But there is growing evidence that qualia and binding come from neural electrochemical substances such as sensory detectors and the strong continuous electromagnetic eld they create. Qualia may thus be neural substances, not neural computations (though computations may still help modulate qualia). This neuroelectrical view not only avoids computationalism's empirical issues but also its problematic metaphysics

    Moral empowerment : elements of a conceptual framework for education

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    In this inquiry I focus on the philosophical framework that could guide educational programmes\ud seeking the moral empowerment of students—the systematic development of the capacity to\ud pursue their own intellectual and spiritual growth and to engage actively in the long-term\ud transformation of their communities, two inseparable aspects of a twofold purpose. Moral\ud empowerment, it is proposed, cannot be achieved by raising political consciousness alone or by\ud pursuing moral education as activity isolated from other components of the overall curriculum.\ud The iterative process through which the individual and the environment are transformed is in\ud need of the full force of knowledge.\ud The inquiry draws on the experience of Fundacion para la Aplicacion y Ensenanza de las\ud Ciencias, FUNDAEC, a Band'i inspired organization in Colombia, in order to identify the essential\ud elements of the evolving conceptual framework under consideration. Nurturing understanding is\ud argued to be central to the desired educational process, necessitating a critical examination of the\ud `subject' and the 'object' of understanding, and how the 'process of understanding' is shaped by\ud them. Nurturing understanding must go hand in hand with the development of a number of\ud spiritual qualities. For this to be achieved, the historical view holding science and religion in\ud opposition should give way to the perspective that they are two complementary systems of\ud knowledge and practice. The integration of knowledge into the content of the teaching-learning\ud experience demands that sharp division between the cognitive and the motivational, between\ud reason and faith, be avoided. The concept of 'capability' discussed in relation to both being and\ud doing, is presented as an effective strategy for this purpose, with the potential to overcome\ud certain dichotomies prevalent in educational thought and practice
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