the lowly matter axiom
19 May 2024 - 10 Jun 2024
- A sort of axiomatic belief that mechanism is "mere", too lowly to support meaning and minds. It's very common. Acid Horizon/David Bentley Hart, We Are Not Software is a good example.
- I think it's a consequence of deeply ingrained mind/body dualism. What interests me is how indignant it makes people if you deny this axiom. You are insulting them if you imply that their precious minds/souls/selves could be made of something as gross and crass as mechanisms.
- Spinoza might be the one philosopher who successfully gets beyond this duality, but I need to read more of him to be sure.
- Minsky of course made a career out of denying this axiom. Other AI people too of course, but he aimed straight at it. His Minsky/Matter, Mind, and Models paper has a theory for why the dualism arises in the first place.
- There is a standard sort of MIT answer to this: saying that minds are mechanical is not lowering minds, it is elevating machines.