Crick's answer to lester's conundrum
- From: "feedbackdroids" <feedbackdroids@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 25 Apr 2006 10:42:31 -0700
http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/crick04/crick04_index.html
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He had very little patience with orthodox philosophers. He felt they
became too prematurely trapped in matters of terminology. I am reminded
of a seminar on consciousness he gave at the Salk in the eighties. A
philosopher-whose name politeness forbids me from mentioning-raised
his hand and said "But Dr Crick ... you are attempting to solve the
so-called problem of consciousness yet you haven't even bothered to
define it...can you clearly define what you are talking about?" Crick's
reply: "My dear chap, there was never a time in the pre-DNA era when a
lot of us biologists sat around the table and said 'Let us first
clearly define life before we explore it'. We just went out there,
forged ahead and found out what it was. It's no doubt good to have a
rough idea of what one is talking about but matters of terminology are
best left to philosophers who spend most of their time on such things.
Indeed clear definitions often emerge from empirical research. We now
no longer quibble over questions like is a virus really alive".
Semantic hygiene, Crick felt, was largely a waste of time.
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