The Meaning of Thought

by Markus Gabriel, Alex Englander (Translator)

Overview

From populist propaganda attacking knowledge as ‘fake news’ to the latest advances in artificial intelligence, human thought is under unprecedented attack today. If computers can do what humans can do and they can do it much faster, what’s so special about human thought? 

In this new book, bestselling philosopher Markus Gabriel steps back from the polemics to re-examine the very nature of human thought. He conceives of human thinking as a ‘sixth sense’, a kind of sense organ that is closely tied our biological reality as human beings. Our thinking is not a form of data processing but rather the linking together of images and imaginary ideas which we process in different sensory modalities. Our time frame expands far beyond the present moment, as our ideas and beliefs stretch far beyond the here and now. We are living beings and the whole of evolution is built into our life story. In contrast to some of the exaggerated claims made by proponents of AI, Gabriel argues that our thinking is a complex structure and organic process that is not easily replicated and very far from being superseded by computers. 

With his usual wit and intellectual verve, Gabriel combines philosophical insight with pop culture to set out a bold defence of the human and a plea for an enlightened humanism for the 21st century. This timely book will be of great value to anyone interested in the nature of human thought and the relations between human beings and machines in an age of rapid technological change.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781509538362
Publisher:	Polity Press
Publication date:	02/01/2021
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Markus Gabriel holds the chair for Epistemology, Modern and Contemporary Philosophy at the University of Bonn and is also the Director of the International Center for Philosophy in Bonn.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Preface xi

Introduction 1

1 The Truth about Thought 14

Complexity without end

What is thinking?

Humans are not the only thinkers

The scope of the universe

Aristotle's senses

Common sense made sensible

The meaning of 'sense', or: the many ways of being wrong

The loneliness of cosmic exile

Not all objects are things

Are there (really) any red bottle caps?

Thinking is not an irritation of the nervous system

Nothing but the truth

The world as a wish list

Frege's thoughts

Information and fake news

Our sixth sense

2 Thought Engineering 57

The map and the territory

Can computers speak Chinese?

Photos don't remember Crete

An ant is crawling on a patch of sand, and why this has nothing to do with Winston Churchill

The god of the internet

Civilization and its discontents

Emotional intelligence and hidden values in the digital labyrinth

A religion called 'functionalism'

Thought is not a vending machine …

… and the soul is not a pile of beer cans

Pacemakers for the brain?

The idea of technology, or: how do I build a house?

Total mobilization

Society is not a video game

The Achilles heel of functionalism

3 The Digital Transformation of Society 97

It's perfectly logical, isn't it?

Some set-theoretical ping-pong

Everything crashes eventually

Do computers really know anything?

Heidegger's murmurings

One miracle too many

In the age of 'complete orderability'

Trapped in The Circle?

A fleeting visit to Winden - society as nuclear power plant

One consciousness to go, please!

Who has a problem here?

4 Why Only Animals Think 138

The nooscope

On souls and index card boxes

'And now come, thou well-worn broom'

Illuminated brains

Consciousness first - Tononi meets Husserl

Inside, outside or nowhere

A slimy and intricate piece of reality

5 Reality and Simulation 163

Mental cinema meets smartphone

The unavoidable Matrix

In memoriam: Jean Baudrillard

Horror and hunger (games)

Beautiful new world - welcome to The Sims

Are you awake or trapped in your dreams?

Do you know Holland?

Matter and ignorance

What is reality?

A hybrid reality

Fish, fish, fish

The shimmering spectrum of reality

Caesar's hairs, India's manhole covers and Germany

Frege's elegant theory of facts

On the limits of our knowledge

Do thoughts lurk within the skull?

The difference between cauliflower, cognac and the thought of thought

Human AI

The end of humanity - tragedy or comedy?

The End of the Book - a Pathos-Laden Final Remark 231

Glossary 234

Notes 252

Index 269