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Good and Real: Demystifying Paradoxes from Physics to Ethics
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Examining a series of provocative paradoxes about consciousness, choice, ethics, and other topics, Good and Real tries to reconcile a purely mechanical view of the universe with key aspects of our subjective impressions of our own existence.
In Good and Real, Gary Drescher examines a series of provocative paradoxes about consciousness, choice, ethics, quantum mechanics, and other ...more
In Good and Real, Gary Drescher examines a series of provocative paradoxes about consciousness, choice, ethics, quantum mechanics, and other ...more
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This book is amazing. The author uses a series of thought experiments to explore some conundrums about everyday life. The book addresses how consciousness may work, why time seems to flow in one direction, why the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics makes no sense, and how all of that ties together and supports certain common ethical prescriptions.
The thought experiments in the book are very enlightening and insightful, but are not always presented well. In particular, the ...more
The thought experiments in the book are very enlightening and insightful, but are not always presented well. In particular, the ...more
I only went about half way through this book. If you are already exposed to the pop recapitulations of the "arrow of time," a mechanist account of consciousness, how a determinist can account for moral values etc. etc., it can be kind of dreary.
What is great is Drescher's interesting defense of the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics, and his look at how people might (mistakenly) interpret how a mirror reflects in the abscence of knowledge.
What is great is Drescher's interesting defense of the Everett interpretation of quantum mechanics, and his look at how people might (mistakenly) interpret how a mirror reflects in the abscence of knowledge.
Nov 30, 2010
Adnan Ali
marked it as unfinished
One of the more challenging books I've come across.
This is a fantastic, mind-altering masterpiece, similar in its sheer impact on my brain and way of living to Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid and Being and Time. I hope to have time to write a real review later, but seriously… read this book!!
There is some circular reasoning in the book (why should we care about our future / parallel branches / past selves), and some questions on self-reciprocity are left unanswered. Also, author tries to substantiate certain strategies (e.g. transparent-boxes version of Newcomb problem) on unfounded future self / parallel branch proposals, while much simpler precommitment notion would suffice.
Overall, this is a great though somewhat dull account on subjective human experiences, thinking ...more
Overall, this is a great though somewhat dull account on subjective human experiences, thinking ...more
I disagree with most of Drescher's conclusions even though I'm also a determinist, but it was worthwhile reading his arguments. This book suffers from some bad philosophy (his use of definitions to solve philosophical problems is particularly awful), but that's okay because of how novel and ambitious it is. I wish this book received a greater response, because I would love to see the issues discussed in a broader context.
Drescher provides an unexpectedly clear and powerful take on several long seated, but mistaken (according to him) concepts in quantum physics and ethics. As the subtitle promises, he does indeed provide plausible answers to some paradoxes encountered in these fields. I found the book to be too technically weighty in the choice machine and Newcomb's problem sections, but nevertheless enjoyed the honest and coherent narrative.
Certainly, a must-read for every Bright interested in ethics.
Certainly, a must-read for every Bright interested in ethics.
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