In next week’s Perspectives on Science Seminar, we will have a talk by Mazviita Chirimuuta (University of Edinburgh) titled “Evidencing Biological Naturalism”. Chirimuuta will join us through Zoom.
The seminar will take place in Metsätalo (room 10) from 15:15 to 16:45 on Monday, October 26, 2026. Please note the unusual time!
Perspectives on Science is a research seminar that brings together experts from the philosophy of science and several fields of science studies. It is organized by TINT – Centre for Philosophy of Social Science at the University of Helsinki. More information about the seminar can be found on the TINT webpage https://tint.helsinki.fi.
What: “Evidencing Biological Naturalism” by Mazviita Chirimuuta
When: Monday 26.10.2026, from 3 to 5 pm (EEST, Helsinki time). Please note the unusual time!
Where: Metsätalo (room 10) and Zoom. The speaker is on Zoom.
Zoom link: Contact mirja-leena.zgurskaya@helsinki.fi for the Zoom link.
Abstract:
“Evidencing Biological Naturalism” by M. Chirimuuta
In discussions concerning the possibility of AI consciousness, computational functionalism has been the dominant position. This is the view that consciousness is essentially kind of computation and therefore medium (or substrate) independent (not reliant on any one kind of physical realizer). The opposing position, biological naturalism, has recently been discussed by Block (2025) and Seth (2026). This is the view that consciousness is essentially a property of (some) living organisms and is therefore medium dependent. According to Block, the debate between computational functionalism and biological naturalism is over whether it is the computational role or the material realizer that determine consciousness. Here I argue that biological naturalism is better understood as the thesis that in living, conscious beings, roles and realizers are inextricably related in such a way that the computational functionalist requirement of medium independence cannot obtain. I discuss findings in neuroscience that are relevant to this issue. Although the neuroscience is still not settled, we can already rule out claims of medium independence of brain processes based on consideration of the greater energy efficiency of medium dependent processing.
Bio:
Mazviita Chirimuuta was awarded a PhD in visual neuroscience from the University of Cambridge and was a post-doc in Philosophy at Monash University and Washington University in St. Louis. She is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. Before then she was Associate Professor in History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. She writes on conceptual and methodological topics within the mind/brain sciences, including perception and computational modelling, taking a historical approach. Her two books Outside Color: Perceptual Science and the Puzzle of Color in Philosophy (2014) and The Brain Abstracted: Simplification in the History and Philosophy of Neuroscience (2024) are published with MIT Press. Outside Color argues for a novel relational and process-based theory of colour ontology, drawing on recent vision science. The Brain Abstracted argues that computational models in neuroscience are radical simplifications of neuro-biological processes and should not be interpreted as evidence for claims that cognition literally is a form of computation. It was awarded the Nayef Al-Rodhan prize for trans-disciplinary philosophy from the Royal Institute of Philosophy in 2024 and the Lakatos Award from the London School of Economics in 2025.
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If you have any questions about the seminar, do not hesitate to contact mirja-leena.zgurskaya@helsinki.fi.