Published in Biosemiotics journal here: Qualitative Attribution, Phenomenal Experience and Being Refer also to my presentation at the Biosemiotics Annual Gathering in Moscow 2019, and at the Higher School of Economics Moscow 2019 Introduction [This following paragraph is about knowledge and...
Published in Biosemiotics Journal here: Causation and Information: Where is Biological Meaning to be Found? Abstract: The term ‘information’ is used extensively in biology, cognitive science and the philosophy of consciousness in relation to the concepts of ‘meaning’ and ‘causation’. While ‘information’ is a term that serves a...
Published by РОССИЙСКАЯ АКАДЕМИЯ НАУК and ИНСТИТУТ НАУЧНОЙ ИНФОРМАЦИИ ПО ОБЩЕСТВЕННЫМ НАУКАМ in МЕТОД: МОСКОВСКИЙ ЕЖЕГОДНИК ТРУДОВ ИЗ ОБЩЕСТВОВЕДЧЕСКИХ ДИСЦИПЛИН ВЫПУСК 10, pp. 91–122. Аннотация. Живым существам объективный мир представляется как совокупность чувственно воспринимаемых качеств, воспоминаний, ощущений, мыслей, желаний, убеж- дений...
A principle message from Jacob von Uexküll was the importance of meaning in understanding life. But currently, naturalising biological meaning, in all the varied ways in which meaning is characterised in living organisms, remains a principle challenge for biosemiotics. What is...
The premise of this paper is that there are three distinct and hierarchical ‘categories of knowledge’ (Pharoah 2018). The first of these is physiological knowledge which is acquired over generations through the interaction between replicating lineages and the environment. This interaction...
This year’s Science of Consciousness conference was to be held in April in Tuscon, Arizona. Due to the covid-19 virus, however, the event was postponed and then relaunched as an online event. So I uploaded my presentation which was based on...
Shostakovich Chamber Symphony is probably the most emotionally draining piece I have every performed. To reflect this, I like the penultimate note, an A flat in the violins, to be played very flat and for its resolution to be almost imperceptible....
CD1 starts with the Bach Adagio in G minor: A soulful movement that seems to want to last for eternity but inevitably reaches its conclusion and, with its last note, holds on… into the distance….. Bach Siciliano from the G minor...
Education I was educated at St Francis Xavier College in Liverpool, but, after my O’Levels gained a scholarship to Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester where I was a weekly boarder. It was here that I won a National Chamber Music...
I teach at my home in Mottingham SE9. I always teach one-to-one but encourage chamber music playing. I am fairly flexible with times although I try to teach primarily at the weekend. I charge £40 per hour (or part thereof). Youngsters...
Teaching approach I always tailor my teaching style to the student; flexibility is key to helping someone advance. Some individuals need to be nurtured and shown how to work at every step, while others are more independent. I use the Associated...
Thirty-eight million Polo Mints are consumed every day, apparently without a second thought. However, could this humble little minty fella actually be the gateway to true knowledge about life, the Universe and everything? We have drawn on the inspiration of Sartre,...
In the first half of this presentation, I provide an overview of the idea that there is a hierarchy of distinct biological mechanisms that generate ontologically distinct classes of knowledge about the world. These distinct classes are described as qualitative, phenomenal...
To be honest, I don’t think you will find a better performance of Benjamin Britten’s Frank Bridge variations than this one. You see, the Kreisler String Orchestra was a 17 piece orchestra with no conductor. Our very unique way of working...
CD2 starts with the upbeat Bach Preludio in E major. All these pieces are solo violin although they involve playing multiple lines. This one is a lively number with darting articulated passages and complex string crossing patterns. Gavotte en Rondeaux in...
Abstract: Through impartial analysis of Daniel Dennett’s ‘The Intentional Stance’ (1987), I identify several inconsistencies in his position on intentionality. Then, I reveal a fatal flaw in the stance, but rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater, make some...
It is morning, but the light has the warm soft hue of early evening. There is no sign of the oncoming intensity of midday. A pair of bare feet are planted on cool sand. Drifting amongst the waves of sand are knee high tufts...
Red, blue,White – but dirty!Silver,white,Black, black,RED! Tall, wide,Then – even Wider!Black,Blue,Then a nice one,SILVER! Red,Red orange…Green – So we go…Left,Right,Along with the,Flow. Ripple, swish;White and grey.And that is it?Until the close…Of my long,Long, day....
The crying corpse:Putrified lips lift a swollen smilea torment with leaning nameless clarityStained with a scentless stenchEvoking a distant frightful wretch. Blood smudge mascara:that is the sexy swan songAnd if one could raise that it from foreverOne would plead skyward that...
A spider’s web: Flowering its intricate petals, Of unsympathetic rapturous delights. What effort drives her passions; Where everything and nothing can possibly be enough? Like misty raindrops: The object of her fulfillment, Drifts through unperturbed and indifferent. Those ‘loveless’ wet teardrops;...
I am… waiting,And watching all types –Aimless tourists, an irregular patchwork.They are pensive;Exiting the great doors,And on toward the austere gates. And watching all types –Aimless tourists, an irregular patchwork.They are pensive;Exiting the great doors,And on toward the austere gates. They...
Falling through the skyOnly downKissing neighboursAt one in unisonAnalysing distorted reflectionsGlinting shapely jewelsMagnetic promises crisp and clearTerminal velocity a rippling whisperCalling its name:“Little raindrop” Little raindropWrinkle that shineLouder the callScreaming.Kamikaze raindropsweet irritantWiped from the browBlurring passedThe landscapeYou are but one now.11-7-2014...
Being born a dyslexic is akin to being born with an ugly face. There’s no ‘community for the ugly’. But that wish for something other than what you are undermines the foundations of confidence; it undermines your belief in the qualities...
What is loneliness?Loneliness is a drug.It tears away dispassion,Dissolves indifference,Intensifies all sensibilities beyond reason,Too despair. Too despair;This kind of tortuous fix,Consumed in protected isolation,Injected with painful shameUntil all sense of realityDisperses. DispersesReality’s ugly images and visionsSacrificing faith and hopeTo the sticky...
With one heartNurture the sphere in your crooked handDeeply inhale its soft cool mist into your fractured lungsWipe its endless soft life gently over red raw eyelids With one visionCaress the curved cragged landscapesBrush the whispering life of treesA sea of...
You know; when you throw a ball at a wallAgain… and again, and again, and again…And it bounces back?…People can be like that wall: It is so…Enticing:To just throw the wheel from the road.…I smile. Like the urge as a student...