Difference between revisions of "MAR 17"

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(Created page with "==16: MAR 17== ===Assigned=== :*Dennett, Daniel. Chapter 4: "A Hearing for Libertarianism" Freedom Evolves. (300) (63-97) ===Two arguments for resisting Dennett's view===...")
 
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==16: MAR 17==
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==14. MAR 17==
  
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===Assigned===
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===Assigned Work===
  
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:*Dennett, Daniel. Chapter 4: "A Hearing for Libertarianism" Freedom Evolves. (300) (63-97)
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:*Gordon Shepherd, ''Neurogastronomy'' Chapter 27 ()
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:*Kessler, The End of Overeating, Ch 4-7  (20)
  
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===Two arguments for resisting Dennett's view===
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:*See reading notes above.
  
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:*Push back on idea that the determinism of the actual world is about causal sufficiency.
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===In-class===
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::*The possible worlds talk is all in your head.  The actual world is the only one we have and everything in it happens from necessity. But note that might not be his problem and might still be compatible with FW. 
 
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:*Push back on idea that states of affairs (S(0) etc.) are not somehow causally related. Even if "state descriptions" aren't causal, it isn't false to say the each state of the universe produces the next.
 
  
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===Dennett, Daniel. Chapter 4: "A Hearing for Libertarianism" Freedom Evolves.===
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:*Food, Meaning, and the Brain
  
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:*Characterizes the traditional argument motivating libertarianism:
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===Gordon Shepard, C27, "Why Flavor Matters"===
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::*If Det true, no FW.  If no FW, no MR.
 
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::*If we think of states of affairs as causing other states of affairs (something he argued against in C2), then we need a break in the causal matrix, '''a GAP''', to own our action, saving FW and MR.
 
  
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:*Mentions, but leaves aside "unrepentant dualists" (feel free to explore these), who try to give accounts of "agent causation" .  By contrast Kane is a naturalist like Dennett. 
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:C27: Why Flavor Matters
  
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:*Kane's goal.  To show that we can be the "ultimate creator and sustainer of our ends and purposes"
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:*brief summary.   
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:*Flavor at different life stages:
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::*In the womb: flavors in amniotic fluid, rat study showing odor preference established pre-natally.  Diet studies with pregnant women (using anise or carrot juice for eample) show similar results. 
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::*In infants: flavor and preference also communicated through breast milk
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::*In childhood:  research showing kids are hyper sensitive to SFS foods. 
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::*In adolescents.
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::*Flavor and dieting in adults.  Doesn’t work.  238:  “key element missing in most discussions of diet is flavor”. Very important point.  Cites Brownell’s “Food Fight” (2004) and Barbara Rolls. 
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::*In old age: research on loss of smell sense.
  
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:*'''Where should we put the gap?
 
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'''
 
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::*i. desire
 
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::*ii. rational will
 
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::*iii. striving will
 
  
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::*gap goes somewhere bt i and ii.  Case of Business woman, two neural clouds around "stay" or "go". 
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===Food, Meaning, and the Brain===
  
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::*105: a little background on chaos.  Old debate about AI.  Are  "hardware neural networks" (in which the indeterminacy is modelled physically v. virtually) non-algorithmic? Yes, but this feature of hardware neural nets doesn't explain their powers since they can also be modelled in a computer, which is algorithmic (computational) at the physical level. 
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:*What are "food phenomena" that suggest the deep involvement of "meaning-making" and food?  
  
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::*Point: D is criticizing Kane for confusing chaos with indeterminism.  The point about neural nets raises the question: Will the indeterminacy (non-computational moment) in Kane's theory really do any work?
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::*Emotional eating - Can we hypothesize about this in light of Gordon/Kessler? Stress, SNS…?
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::*Comfort foods — Conditioned place paradigm.
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:*'''Kane's Model of Indeterministic Decision-making
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::*Ethnic eating and identity
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'''
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::*Class and eating customs - associations of food and manner of eating with class membership (Dr. Oz story - crudities’ v “mixed veggies”. Obama’s arugula gaffe.)
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::*Basic model: If we can introduce a gap of quantum indeterminacy into your decision making than we can say about some of your acts that at some moment "t" ''you could have done otherwise''.  Moreover, in the context of practical reasoning, it is plausible to think that these acts are "self-forming acts" and yours.
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::*Ethical eating —
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::*Communal Eating — arguably, in trouble.  Hard to meet diverse dietary requirements today.  (Without going into things like texture preferences, etc.). The restaurant, happy hour menu, “apericena” solutions.   
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::*108: Input-Output model:  "striving will" is a kind of "resistance". Look at cases.  Clarify notion of "clutch". weakness of the will.
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::*Christian "communion" - Eating god. Check out Jean Soler on this.
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::*Entheogens - eating psychotropic substances to see god.
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::*Do we put the clutch inside or outside?  Memory inside or outside? Randomizer inside or outside?  If these outside us, then the are part of the input (or after the output in the case of deciding right and not doing it) and 'determining' us.  If inside, then they don't determine us?  But we just moved the boundary. 
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::*"Companionship" - etymology, Old French, "Compaignon" - One who breaks bread with another.  Gets at the basic intimacy of eating together.   
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::*Meaningful feasting - Christian feast and fasting days, Thanksgiving, harvest eating.
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::*You could "send out" for randomness, but that's like flipping a coin. Would that make it not "determining"you?
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::*Food and Romance - the "dinner date".  Food intimacy before physical intimacy!
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::*Terroir-based attachments - PNW Salmon, Jamon Iberico, baguettes in Paris, prosciutto e melone!
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::*115: Kane's model is focused on deliberative choice, but D raises questions about how to draw that line.  A habit can be acquired deliberately. Case of strangling the dentist.   
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::*Meat ideology - ways that cultures associate meat (or their cuisine) with cultural superiority.
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::*Food sensitivities in pregnancy - unexpected aversions and compulsions. Inutero flavor preferences and breast feeding flavor influences.(Shepard 234)
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::*Kane allows for some determinism in his model, which helps account for the case of Martin Luther.  
 
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::*SFAs can enter into subsequent deterministic processes (such as one leading to Luther's statement) and still be "ours".  (Note how far we are from Strawson at this point! Ultimate Responsibility is weaker here.)
 
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::*Kane's principle of alternative possibilities. (AP) and discussion of "t" 118-121
 
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::*Kane's ultimacy requirement. (U). You can only be MR for something, if you are MR for everything that was a sufficient condition for that.  SFAs satisfy U.  read at 122.  (I still don't have a clear way to say this.)
 
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:*'''If you make yourself really small, you can externalize virtually everything.
 
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'''
 
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::*How do you get the indeterminacy to be "inside" us?  Echoes of idea of "Cartesan theater" ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartesian_theater#:~:text=%22Cartesian%20theater%22%20is%20a%20derisive,materialist%20theories%20of%20the%20mind. wiki note]from Consciousness Explained).  Doesn't exist, but philosophers invoke it in discussion of consciousness.  
 
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::*Kane's solution: "plural rationality" Imagine two sets of reasons around a decision, both of which you "own" or endorse.  (not sure about D's skepticism at 125).  K's intuition: in such cases we are working with potential choices that are "ours".  The indeterminancy doesn't imply that the outcome is a fluke.   
 
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::*126: Big Criticism (made in next section): Kane's "incremental self-making" is a version of FW worth having, but you don't need indeterminacy to get it.
 
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:*'''Beware of Prime Mammals'''
 
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::*Point of fallacy: result of a desire for a regress stopper, but that is only needed because you assume essentialism.  Kane thinks SFAs are regress stoppers because the gap breaks the chain of causation to the past.  You could have done otherwise and it still would be you.   
 
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::*D: SFAs are prime mammals.  The key to stopping the regress, but not discernable or discoverable, possibly because there is no such thing.  127: no way to tell a real SFA from pseudo.  Oppenheimer: like speication events, only discernable retrospectively. Luther1 and Luther2.
 
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::*Kane's defense might be that it is a problem in the world that it is hard to discern.  But then: Why should metaphysically unknowable features count more than discernable ones (upbringing, abuse, etc.)? 
 
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::*As in the prime mammal fallacy, events in the distant past are not up to me, but events in the recent past might be and this gives me room to extend a self. (This would apply to Strawson as well, I think.)
 

Latest revision as of 20:33, 17 March 2025

14. MAR 17

Assigned Work

  • Gordon Shepherd, Neurogastronomy Chapter 27 ()
  • Kessler, The End of Overeating, Ch 4-7 (20)
  • See reading notes above.

In-class

  • Food, Meaning, and the Brain

Gordon Shepard, C27, "Why Flavor Matters"

C27: Why Flavor Matters
  • brief summary.
  • Flavor at different life stages:
  • In the womb: flavors in amniotic fluid, rat study showing odor preference established pre-natally. Diet studies with pregnant women (using anise or carrot juice for eample) show similar results.
  • In infants: flavor and preference also communicated through breast milk
  • In childhood: research showing kids are hyper sensitive to SFS foods.
  • In adolescents.
  • Flavor and dieting in adults. Doesn’t work. 238: “key element missing in most discussions of diet is flavor”. Very important point. Cites Brownell’s “Food Fight” (2004) and Barbara Rolls.
  • In old age: research on loss of smell sense.


Food, Meaning, and the Brain

  • What are "food phenomena" that suggest the deep involvement of "meaning-making" and food?
  • Emotional eating - Can we hypothesize about this in light of Gordon/Kessler? Stress, SNS…?
  • Comfort foods — Conditioned place paradigm.
  • Ethnic eating and identity
  • Class and eating customs - associations of food and manner of eating with class membership (Dr. Oz story - crudities’ v “mixed veggies”. Obama’s arugula gaffe.)
  • Ethical eating —
  • Communal Eating — arguably, in trouble. Hard to meet diverse dietary requirements today. (Without going into things like texture preferences, etc.). The restaurant, happy hour menu, “apericena” solutions.
  • Christian "communion" - Eating god. Check out Jean Soler on this.
  • Entheogens - eating psychotropic substances to see god.
  • "Companionship" - etymology, Old French, "Compaignon" - One who breaks bread with another. Gets at the basic intimacy of eating together.
  • Meaningful feasting - Christian feast and fasting days, Thanksgiving, harvest eating.
  • Food and Romance - the "dinner date". Food intimacy before physical intimacy!
  • Terroir-based attachments - PNW Salmon, Jamon Iberico, baguettes in Paris, prosciutto e melone!
  • Meat ideology - ways that cultures associate meat (or their cuisine) with cultural superiority.
  • Food sensitivities in pregnancy - unexpected aversions and compulsions. Inutero flavor preferences and breast feeding flavor influences.(Shepard 234)
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