Instructor Bio
Dr Santos has spent more than ten years researching in the fields of bio/nanotechnology and data science. His interests extend to fields as broad as philosophy, psychology, human behavior, arts and computing.
Dr Santos is the author of more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles in the fields of applied physics, materials science, nanotechnology, bio-nanotechnology, analysis of non-linear systems, chaos theory, harmonic analysis and data science in general.
2020/MAY Update
Metaphysics
There is this problem that has lasted thousands of years. Some people believe that logic, reason and truth have the last word.
This point of departure typically ends up trapped in a metaphysics of facts, i.e. of having to explain what a fact is and how facts relate to logic and truth. Here I show that claiming that logic is the last resort for human discussion leaves out the fact that logic itself is freely floating and depends on a metaphysics of truth and/or fact that is also freely floating. The result is that logic itself depends on something which logic is not.
This does not disturb the progress of science in the least because in order to advance science only needs a metaphysics of world that is mathematical in nature. This is precisely our current metaphysics of truth. So science can advance, but this creates the residues of morality, human value and human decision among other.
Of course mathematics can also be employed to model morality and human decision, but this doesn't solve the fact that mathematics has not explained exactly what facts are, or truth or how the relations between world and mathematics is. Mathematics cannot do this because it stands on an already posited conception of world. This simply assumes that mathematics explains truth. Within this set of beliefs science finds evidence that this is enough simply because it advances, but advance is already defined within its very own conception of world and, by definition and within its limits, it can not fail.
As examples of residues left by this conception of world, which extends to realms of being well beyond its possibilities, we see how society struggles to provide regulations by invoking logic and truth that then get entangled in a metaphysics of value or morality as left overs.
The metaphysics of subjectivity
Here I discuss the conception of world that results from standard metaphysics: cause-effect, reason, logic, fact and mathematical modelling and link it to the conception of world set in place by Descartes and his time.
This is still the modern conception of world within certain limits. Most of philosophy and sociology, and even morality, fight this conception because it leads to the problem of having to place a morality on top of what is thought to be the real world, i.e. the laws of physics and the mathematical description of the world that are "worldless". The human being is left to its subjectivity in a sphere of being where it is precisely world that is lacking. Examples of this poverty in world are given by discussing how one "simply likes, dislikes or opines" on things.
According to Nietzsche this leads to the annihilation of truth. But I consider, see below, that Nietzsche never reached the point where he could fully articulate this annihilation, let alone articulate the origin of the annihilation. Nietzsche might have thought that values are tools and concepts that emerged on the basis of will to power but did not question the obscure origin of "value" beyond its metaphysical obscurity and into its inception. The discussion of Nietzsche is given in the talk below but this talk on the metaphysics of subjectivity is key in order to understand Nietzsche's problematic.
From Descartes no Nietzsche: the theoretical human
Here I discuss the transition from the conception of world of subjectivity, or Cartesian world, where values (morality) are adjustments or labels that objects need. Otherwise objects are just physical entities and making laws for human life becomes a problem. With the physical world the law of morality is missing. This leads us to the problem of Nietzsche. Nietzsche wanted to replace Cartesian metaphysics (values) but was still moving within a Cartesian metaphysics of subjects, objects, res extensa and values. This is what I try to show in this talk.
Finally I give a first sketch of how metaphysic systems in general bypass world and therefore are constructions or conceptions of world that precisely disregard world.
I have only given a brief summary here of how this is indeed the case but discuss examples of "world" by invoking the world-hood of the world, a Heideggerian concept that shows that the human lives in the world already as the human "constructs world". This living in the world is typically obviated and certain regions of truth are given priority in order to construct "world" and "truth".
Dr Santos is the author of more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles in the fields of applied physics, materials science, nanotechnology, bio-nanotechnology, analysis of non-linear systems, chaos theory, harmonic analysis and data science in general.
2020/MAY Update
Metaphysics
There is this problem that has lasted thousands of years. Some people believe that logic, reason and truth have the last word.
This point of departure typically ends up trapped in a metaphysics of facts, i.e. of having to explain what a fact is and how facts relate to logic and truth. Here I show that claiming that logic is the last resort for human discussion leaves out the fact that logic itself is freely floating and depends on a metaphysics of truth and/or fact that is also freely floating. The result is that logic itself depends on something which logic is not.
This does not disturb the progress of science in the least because in order to advance science only needs a metaphysics of world that is mathematical in nature. This is precisely our current metaphysics of truth. So science can advance, but this creates the residues of morality, human value and human decision among other.
Of course mathematics can also be employed to model morality and human decision, but this doesn't solve the fact that mathematics has not explained exactly what facts are, or truth or how the relations between world and mathematics is. Mathematics cannot do this because it stands on an already posited conception of world. This simply assumes that mathematics explains truth. Within this set of beliefs science finds evidence that this is enough simply because it advances, but advance is already defined within its very own conception of world and, by definition and within its limits, it can not fail.
As examples of residues left by this conception of world, which extends to realms of being well beyond its possibilities, we see how society struggles to provide regulations by invoking logic and truth that then get entangled in a metaphysics of value or morality as left overs.
The metaphysics of subjectivity
Here I discuss the conception of world that results from standard metaphysics: cause-effect, reason, logic, fact and mathematical modelling and link it to the conception of world set in place by Descartes and his time.
This is still the modern conception of world within certain limits. Most of philosophy and sociology, and even morality, fight this conception because it leads to the problem of having to place a morality on top of what is thought to be the real world, i.e. the laws of physics and the mathematical description of the world that are "worldless". The human being is left to its subjectivity in a sphere of being where it is precisely world that is lacking. Examples of this poverty in world are given by discussing how one "simply likes, dislikes or opines" on things.
According to Nietzsche this leads to the annihilation of truth. But I consider, see below, that Nietzsche never reached the point where he could fully articulate this annihilation, let alone articulate the origin of the annihilation. Nietzsche might have thought that values are tools and concepts that emerged on the basis of will to power but did not question the obscure origin of "value" beyond its metaphysical obscurity and into its inception. The discussion of Nietzsche is given in the talk below but this talk on the metaphysics of subjectivity is key in order to understand Nietzsche's problematic.
From Descartes no Nietzsche: the theoretical human
Here I discuss the transition from the conception of world of subjectivity, or Cartesian world, where values (morality) are adjustments or labels that objects need. Otherwise objects are just physical entities and making laws for human life becomes a problem. With the physical world the law of morality is missing. This leads us to the problem of Nietzsche. Nietzsche wanted to replace Cartesian metaphysics (values) but was still moving within a Cartesian metaphysics of subjects, objects, res extensa and values. This is what I try to show in this talk.
Finally I give a first sketch of how metaphysic systems in general bypass world and therefore are constructions or conceptions of world that precisely disregard world.
I have only given a brief summary here of how this is indeed the case but discuss examples of "world" by invoking the world-hood of the world, a Heideggerian concept that shows that the human lives in the world already as the human "constructs world". This living in the world is typically obviated and certain regions of truth are given priority in order to construct "world" and "truth".
Sergio Santos Courses
The Metaphysics of Subjectivity: confronting Descartes (2021)
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Provider: Udemy
Time: 4h
$11.99
