Research

This paper presents an argument to the conclusion that machines can acquire human mindedness, that is, they can be intelligent, conscious, sentient, etc. in precisely the way that a human being typically is. Machines are defined here as digital computers—i.e., the same type of engineered and programmed artefact as the vast majority of our modern-day computing devices—with the additional condition that these artefacts must be primarily made from non-organic materials such as silicon or plastic. Following a brief review of the history of the type of argument advanced here, a thought experiment is presented and analysed, culminating in the aforementioned conclusion. That conclusion is then defended against a number of objections.

This book offers a concise account of the Socratic nature of Wittgenstein’s philosophy. It carefully introduces the Socratic method and explains the philosophy of Wittgenstein, both early and late, through this prism. The exposition is guided throughout by reflections on the existential question that both thinkers grappled with: namely, how to properly cultivate reason at both the individual and the societal level. For both Socrates and Wittgenstein, the question of how to think well was inextricably connected to that of how to live well. The book presents a critical assessment of their respective achievements and shortcomings in their common project of cultivating reason.