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I'm surprised that this is coming from leading neuroscientists Christoff Koch, arguing through anecdotes and facts well known by every writer who has explicated
by hexxiiiz 7y ago
I'm surprised that this is coming from leading neuroscientists Christoff Koch, arguing through anecdotes and facts well known by every writer who has explicated a position against this claim. The position he takes is really not one that attempts to substantiate the claim that consciousness doesn't depend on language scientifically, philosophically, mathematically, etc... Instead, this reads more like a vague reflection on some of the thoughts Koch has that give him pause about the question. His answer, that consciousness doesn't depend on language, appears here as little more than a belief he holds. Pehaps the article should have been titled "Why I Feel Like Consciousness Doesn't Depend on Language". That could indeed be the case, but the great why that makes it so will have to be more than a feeling you get about your dachshund.
- hexxiiiz 7y agoI would add, as an aside, that the article does go well with the photo of Koch showing his slide deck to the Dalai Lama, as though to pay some kind of metaphysical penance for being a scientist. I feel like the encounter with the Dalai Lama has become a bit of a trope among the darlings of American academia. I remember seeing a lecture with Paul Eckman in which he seemed to brag about the number of hours he had logged with the Dalai Lama, not to be outdone in the breadth of his perspectives.
- nabla9 7y agoWriter must choose the level of detail and style for the audience. This is written for layman audience in popular science site. You can't find articles in nautil.us that go deep into subjects.