Brain in a Vat

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Episode 30. Brain in a Vat

Have you considered that you might be a brain in a vat of liquid floating in a laboratory somewhere? How can you know that the world around you is real, not just a simulation being piped directly to your brain? In this episode, Ellie and David unpack one of philosophy's favorite thought experiments: the brain in a vat. They also analyze our cultural obsession with the brain, common criticisms of this thought experiment from consciousness studies, and precursors in Descartes and science fiction. Also--what's with the Italian neuroscientist who keeps trying to do head transplants?

Overthink is a philosophy podcast hosted by your favorite new professors, Ellie Anderson (Pomona College) and David Peña-Guzmán (San Francisco State University). Check out our episodes for deep dives into concepts such as existential anxiety, empathy, and gaslighting.

Works discussed:
Daniel Dennett, "Where Am I?"
Gilbert Harman, Thought
Alva Noë, Out of Our Heads: Why You Are Not Your Brain
Evan Thompson and Diego Cosmelli, "Brain in a Vat or Body in a World? Brainbound Versus Enactive Views of Experience"
Shaun Gallagher and Dan Zahavi, The Phenomenological Mind
Bronwyn Parry, "Technologies of Immortality: The Brain on Ice"
John Desmond Bernal, The World, the Flesh and the Devil
Raymond Roussel, Locus Solus
John Tresch, "In a solitary place: Raymond Roussel’s brain and the French cult of unreason"
Harry Smit and Peter M. S. Hacker, "Seven Misconceptions About the Mereological Fallacy: A Compilation for the Perplexed"
Bessel van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score

Find us on Instagram and Twitter at @overthink_pod
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David does not address the fact that for an idealist (the base of everything is mind) the "brain in the vat" is nonsense...Ellie address the dualism matter&mind in a light fashion... I really do not understand why people is so adherent to concepts such as "matter (brain) giving origin to consciouness (mind)"... We only have access to a "stream of perceptions & thoughts"... the "brain", matter, objects etc are simply concepts created by this "thing!?" called consciousness. Consciousness is the base of everything!!! consciousness is "real" whereas all the other "stuff" are illusions 🙂

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Kinda surprised they didn't touch upon the very common philosophical idea that the conscious being is God and that's the only thing that can be known for sure.

ourdivinemouseoverlord