Ep. #194 – Consciousness, Thoughts, and Minds w/ Dr. Rasmussen
Summary
What is consciousness? What are thoughts? How can we analyze thoughts using the tools of reason and introspection? How do thoughts and consciousness point us beyond what is purely material? Can an argument inspired by Cantor’s mathematical work serve us in the philosophy of mind? What does current work in neuroscience say on these topics? Dr. Josh Rasmussen joins the show again to discuss these ideas as we examine his forthcoming book.
Guest Bio
Joshua Rasmussen, Ph.D., is an associate professor of philosophy at Azusa Pacific University. His area of expertise is analytic metaphysics, with a focus on the foundations of existence and the philosophy of mind. He is the author of several books including Defending the Correspondence Theory of Truth (Cambridge University Press, 2014) and Necessary Existence (with Pruss; Oxford University Press, 2015), and How Reason Can Lead to God. He has also started the worldview design platform to help people build their worldview. Dr. Rasmussen values collaboration across disciplines and perspectives.
Resources
How Reason Can Lead to God: A Philosopher’s Bridge to Faith by Dr. Josh Rasmussen
Joshualrasmussen.com (Josh Rasmussen’s personal website)
How to Build a Thought (paper) by Joshua Rasmussen and Andrew Bailey – This presents a formal version of the “counting argument” we discuss during the episode
Is God the Best Explanation of Things?: A Dialogue by Josh Rasmussen and Felipe Leon
A Randomness-Based Theodicy for Evolutionary Evils by Jordan Wessling and Josh Rasmussen
Related Episodes
Ep. #88 – Why Would God Allow Evils Such As COVID-19? w/ Dr. Rasmussen
Ep. #53 – Exploring the Ultimate Foundation w/ Dr. Rasmussen (part 3)
The video to the Episode 194 is blocked. Is that to be expected? Says the video is restricted.
Hi John, it is working for me. Maybe you could try finding it on YouTube.
Very weird. Some of the videos on Pat’s YouTube site play just fine (for example the Kettlebell videos)and some give this “restricted video” warning (like this one with you). Pat must be marking these videos differently as to who can watch them. I use a VPN to access YouTube and maybe his settings on some videos restrict certain VPN connections. I’ll figure out how to access it without my VPN connection. Thanks!
Hey John, do you know if there is any timeframe when we can expect the book?