Philip Clayton - Does Mind Emerge from Matter? - Inside Story Conference

If mind emerges from matter, what does that tell us about the nature of mind and matter? Is this emergence mystical, or does it fall squarely in the domain of science? In this talk I will push the scientific explanations of mental phenomena as far as they can possibly go, in the hopes of convincing at least some that it is not necessary to posit any additional transcendent reality. And yet, if emergent novelty continues far enough, existing explanatory categories must at some point fall short. No natural theology can prove God from the phenomena of natural emergence. But certain features of the matter-mind relationship do open intriguing doors onto the other themes of the conference: meaning, mysticism, and the inner dimension.

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The Inside Story:
Consciousness, Nature, Transcendence

A transdisciplinary conference on Mind, Matter, Meaning, & Mysticism

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I Think, Therefore I Am?

Descartes' famous dictum gave rise to the modern distinction between mind and matter. But "the inside story" is more complex and thrilling, possibly uniting mind and matter, meaning and mysticism.

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The Inside Story conference took place at Villanova University
in Villanova, PA on November 9-10, 2018