About us
This group is for everyone who likes intellectual discussion and the sharing of ideas and values. It covers a wide range of topics - art, history, philosophy, economics, science, culture, sexuality, beliefs - whatever people in the group are interested in talking about.
Each session starts with one member talking about a topic they are interested in. We then discuss that topic. The group encourages diversity of opinion with a relaxed atmosphere that allows people to express themselves openly without judgment or hostility.
Each session will have suggested books and web articles to read and videos to watch so that we can have a quality, informed discussion.
Upcoming events
1
What does it feel like to be a dog? And can ChatGPT feel anything?
C/ de València, 209, Barcelona, CT, ESWhat is it like to be a dog? In this session we'll spend an hour or so in the world of my dog Monty. We will consider his extraordinary nose, his vision, and the strange new neuroscience of how he perceives. We will use that as a way into one of the deepest questions in philosophy: what consciousness actually is, and why it's so hard to explain through science.
We will then compare the way Monty experiences the world with how AI Large Language Models work, and whether it makes sense to think that LLMs might have felt-experience.
Note I did this talk in May this year under the title "Monty's World". If you came to that talk then don't come to this one.
This session will be led by James.
A relatively recent book on the subject I can recommend is Being You: A New Science of Consciousness by Anil Seth. A World Appears
A Journey Into Consciousness by Michael Pollen is also really good. A good overall review of philosophy related to consciousness is Philosophers on Consciousness: Talking about the Mind (Talking about Philosophy) by Jack Symes. If you want to know more about how animals experience the world, An Immense World by Ed Yong is great.Bring wine/beer/drinks/food/snacks/whatever if you want to.
Our events fill up very quickly. To avoid missing out on future events, join the WhatsApp group via this link:
https://tally.so/r/w4G5L5Press the buzzer marked Semi sotano 2 to be let in. It's down the stairs, first door on the right.
Image: My dog Monty on a walk near Montserrat.
22 attendees
Past events
138
