yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

Supervenience


2m read
·Nov 8, 2024

One of the questions was, "Um, how is it that logic supervenes on our brains?"

And I think it's a good question.

Um, I think it's a question that we're not currently in a position to give a full answer to.

Um, for that, our understanding of how the brain and the mind are interrelated needs to be, uh, much more advanced than it currently is.

Um, but I think by way of analogy, I can give you an idea of how, uh, a materialist conception of the mind—how it, how it can, how it approaches this question.

Anyway, so to take the example of a computer, um, we know exactly, uh, the parts that make up a computer, and we know exactly what happens in those parts in order for the computer to do the things it's expected to do.

Ultimately, what happens inside a computer is electrons move around.

That's all it is at a basic level, and yet we're happy to say things like the computer calculates, uh, a sum, an equation, or the computer displays a web page.

And yet we don't feel the need to posit some kind of immaterial entity or immaterial knowledge or symbol or something from another realm that somehow is injected into the computer that enables it to do these things.

We know exactly what's in a computer, what happens in a computer, and we also know that in a manner of speaking, the result is greater than the sum of its parts.

The ability to calculate or to display a web page supervenes on the fundamental activity of electrons in a computer.

And what the materialist worldview says, or at least the version that I'm familiar with, is that in a similar way, the electrical and chemical activity inside the brain gives rise to Consciousness, thought, abstract Concepts, etc.

So logic, as in our internal representation of the most general features of the reality in which we find ourselves, logic in that sense supervenes on the physical.

I hope that makes it a bit clearer.

More Articles

View All
Origins of the Universe 101 | National Geographic
[Narrator] The universe is everything. From the tiniest particles to the largest galaxies, to the very existence of space, time, and life. But how did it all begin? The origin of the universe is the origin of everything. Multiple scientific theories plus …
Dealing With Anger (A Stoic & Buddhist Perspective)
Of what use is anger when the same end can be arrived at by reason? Do you suppose that a hunter is angry with the beasts he kills? Seneca. Anger is an emotion that everyone experiences at some point in their lives. There are different ways in which ange…
Athlane (S19) - YC Tech Talks, Gaming 2020 (November 9, 2020)
Uh yeah, so like I said, I’m the co-founder of Athlane. And so if you’re at this talk, you’ve probably watched a live stream before. Oftentimes, what’s not captured in that stream is what these creators endure to deliver that viewership experience. Wheth…
Into the Forests | Branching Out | Part 1
April is Earth month, a time to celebrate our natural world. It’s also a call to reflect on our impact and think of new ways that we can protect and restore the planet. I’m Ginger Z, chief meteorologist at ABC News. My family and I are hitting the road t…
The Team Leader Steps Down | Explorer
Hi. On a remote peak in Myanmar, a team of elite climbers is unraveling just as they are poised to attempt the summit. “But what I’m hearing from you guys is that you don’t trust me on the rope.” “We’re just worried about the safety of the team. There’l…
Trig limit using double angle identity | Limits and continuity | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy
All right, let’s see if we can find the limit of one over the square root of two sine of theta over cosine of two theta as theta approaches negative pi over four. Like always, try to give it a shot before we go through it together. Well, one take on it i…