Animal Sentience
August 3, 2026
Derek Ball
The hard problem of consciousness is to explain why certain physical states are conscious: why do they feel the way they do, rather than some other way or no way at all? Arthur Reber (2016) claims to solve the hard problem. But he does not: even if we grant that amoebae are conscious, we can ask why such organisms feel the way they do, and Reber’s theory provides no answer. Still, Reber’s...
Animal Sentience
August 3, 2026
Yew-Kwang Ng
Reber’s axiom: “Any organism with flexible cell walls, a sensitivity to its surrounds and the capacity for locomotion will possess the biological foundations of mind and consciousness” does not seem to be supported by things we know and the logic of evolutionary biology. The latter leads to the conclusion that conscious species are flexible in their behavior (rather than in their cell walls),...
Animal Sentience
August 3, 2026
Gwen J. Broude
Reber believes he has simplified Chalmers’s “hard problem” of consciousness by arguing that subjectivity is an inherent feature of biological forms. His argument rests on the related notions of continuity of mind and gradual accretion of capacities across evolutionary time. These notions need to be defended, not just asserted. Because Reber minimizes the differences in mental faculties among...
Animal Sentience
August 3, 2026
Carolyn A. Ristau
Donald Griffin co-discovered bat sonar and founded the field of echolocation. He studied bird migration and founded Cognitive Ethology, the study of animal awareness and mental experiences. In all these endeavors, he faced hostile opposition. The biography (Ristau 2024) examines Griffin's life and the scientific explorations by him and others in these fields. This Précis emphasizes his...
August 2, 2026
Pragya Mishra
preprint
Observational, cross-sectional, anonymous questionnaire study comparing experienced Goenka-lineage Vipassana meditators with matched non-meditators in Uttar Pradesh, India, on moral self-evaluation, moral-superiority beliefs, offender humanisation/dehumanisation, sentencing attitudes, perceived dangerousness, and capacity for reform. Confirmatory hypotheses (two co-primary outcomes,...
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
August 2, 2026
Rubens Turci
preprint
This essay examines the passage from attentional regulation to contemplative orientation and responsible participation. It distinguishes concentration, mindfulness, kindfulness, heartfulness, contemplation, and responsibility as changing functions within contemplative practice rather than as a rigid hierarchy of techniques. Through the images of the compass, the wheel, and the axis, the essay...
San José State University ScholarWorks
August 2, 2026
Soo Lam Wong
Fan Zhen’s 范缜 “Shen-Mie-Lun 神灭论” can be read as a debate between a physicalist and a dualist in the philosophy of mind. Many of Fan’s arguments found in the “Shen-Mie-Lun” correspond to contemporary physicalism in Western analytic philosophy. My aim in this essay is to bring Fan's “Shen-Mie-Lun” into conversation with contemporary physicalism in the following way: (1) offer an outline of Fan’s...
Comparative Philosophy An International Journal of Constructive Engagement of Distinct Approaches toward World Philosophy
August 2, 2026
Renée Snow
This paper argues that functional organization alone is not sufficient for phenomenal consciousness or the existence of a unified subject of experience. While many contemporary accounts of artificial consciousness assume that replicating the causal or computational structure of the brain would be sufficient for subjective experience, this paper identifies a deeper constraint: consciousness...
Medicine, Health Care, and Philosophy
August 1, 2026
Hielke Bosma
Rehabilitation care concerns not only the restoration of function but also how persons live through disruption. Injury and illness may bring loss, uncertainty, altered dependence, changed self-understanding, and a changed horizon of life. Concepts such as coping and resilience capture important aspects of adaptation but do not fully clarify the inner work involved in bearing and inhabiting such...
Neurosurgical focus
August 1, 2026
Jai Deep Thakur, Sree Kalyan Patiballa, Jigar M Patel et al.
The experience of grief within neurosurgery extends across a diverse range of individuals, including patients, but also caregivers, neurosurgeons, trainees, advanced practice providers, and the nursing staff who care for neurosurgical patients. This congregation of individuals constitutes the sacred thread woven in the circle of neurosurgery. This interconnected circle is united by a string of...