The AI Fundamentalists
The AI Fundamentalists
Dr. Andrew Clark & Dr. Sid Mangalik
Metaphysics and modern AI: What is reality?
38 minutes Posted Oct 27, 2025 at 5:00 am.
Welcome and metaphysics mini-series
Defining metaphysics and today’s focus
What makes an object an object?
Perception, properties, and persistence
Plato’s Forms versus Aristotle’s Realism
Identity through change and the Ship Paradox
Simples, complexes, and emergence
Consciousness, embodiment, and LLM limits
Existentialism and subjective seality
Why metaphysics still matters for AI
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Show notes
In the first episode of our series on metaphysics, Michael Herman joins us from Episode #14 on “What is consciousness?” to discuss reality. More specifically, the question of objects in reality. The team explores Plato’s forms, Aristotle’s realism, emergence, and embodiment to determine whether AI models can approximate from what humans uniquely experience. Defining objects via properties, perception, and persistenceBanana and circle examples for identity and idealsPlato versus Aristo...