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The Animal and the Thinker

The law tends to seek justification for is choices, even when no objective justification is possible! It hesitates to say “we’re just doing this”. Another topic from my book… www.penguin.co.uk/books/461766...

penguin.co.uk

The big questions of our lives bring fierce debates. Right and wrong. Freedom and responsibility. Women and men. Democracy and justice. Ambition and fulfilment. Where do answers lie in a mind that p...

I’m not sure that a question about the inner world of another can even be coherently asked, but I am sure it can’t be answered.

The same applies to honeybees, or to AI. We just make guesses based on similarity to ourselves. Personally I don’t boil lobsters, but I’m just being careful, in case.

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This includes the possibility that you are a zombie without experiences. No conceivable evidence could rule that in or out.

John Duncan @john-duncan.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

I have to weigh in on this. Surely no conceivable evidence can tell us whether red looks the same to you as to me. Our experiences are only defined in our own inner world, and can’t be compared.

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Wish I could have been there for this. Loving both psychology and neuroscience, my prior is that the former (for now) is the more informative level for questions like this. But I would have loved to get this prior updated. Example: johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com/p/culture-wa...

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John Duncan @john-duncan.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Thanks, Mike - this was new to me. Immediate questions (e.g. don't multiple policies need to be integrated?) - but perhaps not to be asked without actually reading the book!

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John Duncan @john-duncan.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Frankly, given the disaster of my book, I'd be thrilled to see a copy on sale... well, anywhere, really!

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John Duncan @john-duncan.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

New post on my Animal and Thinker blog: johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com/p/culture-wa... The ideal of democracy and the reality of our minds...

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John Duncan @john-duncan.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Damn it! I'm extremely interested, but not adequately skilled. Will just look forward to the results instead - sounds fascinating.

John Duncan @john-duncan.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

My mission control is great. Now I just need a mission. Congratulations!

John Duncan @john-duncan.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Explanations of the hard problem tend to take the form of (a) explaining easy problems or (b) saying there is no hard problem. When somebody explains how a brain event could produce an inner experience that looks like “red”, I’ll feel we have some progress at last.

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John Duncan @john-duncan.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

And might I add, Professor Passingham, that you've always made sure they would!

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John Duncan @john-duncan.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

New post on the blog: johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com/p/why-we-try Smashing computers, why I've come to love bad reviews, how cute God would think we were

It is in the dialogue of instinct and reason that we find answers to life’s biggest questions.

The book lays out the principles, strengths and weaknesses of instinct and reason. Not rivals, each brings something essential to the mind. Instinct struggles with modern civilisation - but brings value and meaning. Reason brings an infinity of new ideas - but alone is helpless.

For thousands of years, writers, thinkers and philosophers have seen life as a battle between the guiding power of reason and a disruptive animal within. Fierce culture wars and endless newsfeeds turn up the tension. How can we overcome our uncertainties and know the many sides of ourselves?

Why are we so often in conflict — arguing with ourselves and each other over who we are and what we want?

Just finished the back cover text for the paperback of The Animal and the Thinker. It will need splitting into 4 posts: