Ideas from 'The Blank Slate' by Steven Pinker [2002], by Theme Structure
[found in 'The Blank Slate' by Pinker,Steven [Penguin 2003,0-140-27605-x]].
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7. Existence / C. Structure of Existence / 2. Reduction
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Good reductionism connects fields of knowledge, but doesn't replace one with another
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12. Knowledge Sources / D. Empiricism / 2. Associationism
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Connectionists say the mind is a general purpose learning device
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12. Knowledge Sources / E. Direct Knowledge / 4. Memory
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Is memory stored in protein sequences, neurons, synapses, or synapse-strengths?
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16. Persons / F. Free Will / 5. Against Free Will
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Roundworms live successfully with 302 neurons, so human freedom comes from our trillions
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17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 4. Connectionism
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Neural networks can generalise their training, e.g. truths about tigers apply mostly to lions
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There are five types of reasoning that seem beyond connectionist systems [PG]
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22. Metaethics / A. Ethics Foundations / 2. Source of Ethics / e. Human nature
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Many think that accepting human nature is to accept innumerable evils
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27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 2. Life
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In 1828, the stuff of life was shown to be ordinary chemistry, not a magic gel
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27. Natural Reality / G. Biology / 3. Evolution
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Intelligent Design says that every unexplained phenomenon must be design, by default
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All the evidence says evolution is cruel and wasteful, not intelligent
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