A Post-Galilean Paradigm

[Laird]

Ongoing debate between Goff and Massimo Piggilucci.

The seventh letter in the dialogue, Goff's, has been posted - it is apparently his final letter in the exchange.

Interesting, but it seems the two are largely talking past each other.

One thing, completely unrelated to the topic, did strike me: It was refreshing to read a respectful dialogue between two people of differing views.  Just doesn't seem to happen much in today's culture.

[Laird]

The seventh letter in the dialogue, Goff's, has been posted - it is apparently his final letter in the exchange.

And here's the eighth and final letter, Massimo's. He suggests that metaphysics be tied closely to empirical science, and that otherwise it is irrelevant - and he seems to think that a physicalist metaphysic is more closely tied to empirical science than any other metaphysic, in the sense of being empirically supported.

And here's the eighth and final letter, Massimo's. He suggests that metaphysics be tied closely to empirical science, and that otherwise it is irrelevant - and he seems to think that a physicalist metaphysic is more closely tied to empirical science than any other metaphysic, in the sense of being empirically supported.

I came off surprisingly sympathetic to Massimo, who I still think hit his peak in intellectual thought when he was a Mathematical Platonist...

Goff was both too "timid" (subjective quality is the only, or at least primary, hole in mechanistic/reductionist explanation) while also overreaching (Panpsychism is the Way).

Massimo's point that without some empirical grounding it is hard to say why one should pick one theory over another [seems reasonable]. OTOH, when you look at his suggested metaphysic - Every Thing Must Go by Ladyman & Ross - it comes off as quite hollow in that it reads like Structure of Relations can yield satisfying explanations.

I'd be curious to see a similar exchange between Massimo and say Ruperty Sheldrake as someone who is more versed in issues like local realism, contextuality in physics, anti-mechanistic philosophy, etc...