C RLK

 A

Below is a clean, distilled BULLET-GIST of QUOTES & CORE IDEAS from the RLK Reflections passage.
(Only essence and key quotations—no added interpretation.)

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BULLET GIST QUOTES — RLK Reflections

Stance on Theories

• “I shall not adjudicate… rank them… or critique this one or that one.”

• Doesn’t trust his own idiosyncratic rankings.

On the State of Consciousness Studies

• Acknowledges a “blizzard” of theories; sees ongoing change.

• Resists McGinn’s pessimism: “The mystery persists… we cannot resolve the mystery.”

• “We go on. That’s what it means to be human.”

Approach to Big Questions

• Often asked why he doesn’t take stronger positions.

• “If I knew, I’d tell… I’ve learned to luxuriate in the questions,” with “proactive and passionate agnosticism.”

Reception & Responses

• Cites praise from Gómez-Marín for bringing many disciplines to one table.

• Notes Kauffman’s remark: “By publishing the Landscape you shall have changed it.”

• Observes many dislike the proliferation of theories.

On the Proliferation of Theories

• Quip (echoing religion): “It’s not that we have too many; it’s that we have one too few.”

Personal History

• Once embarrassed (1960s) to take consciousness seriously; now proud.

• Notes rising scientific interest, including urgency from AI consciousness concerns.

Acknowledgments of Influence

• Praises:

  • Christof Koch for neural correlates

  • David Chalmers for philosophical challenges

  • John Leslie for deep metaphysical thinking

  • Paul Davies and Andrei Linde for taking consciousness seriously in physics

• Linde’s defiant line: “If I take ‘consciousness’ out, I’d lose respect for myself.”

Challenges to the Landscape

• Stanowski argues the solution lies outside the Landscape; RLK clarifies he means only that any future theory’s elements could be categorized within it.

Sobering Appraisals

• Quotes Fodor: “Nobody has the slightest idea how anything material could be conscious.”

• Quotes Sutherland: “Consciousness… impossible to specify… nothing worth reading has been written on it.”

A More Optimistic View

• Hirstein: diversity of theories is human intelligence tackling a vital problem; many are “inter-consistent… touching different parts of the same elephant.”

RLK’s Rare Personal Statement

• “What I believe doesn’t much matter.”

• Tried to “inhabit” each theory fairly.

• But reveals, at the end:

Personal Hunch (72 total words)

• “My own hunch… might be something of a Dualism–Idealism mashup. (I can describe; I dare not defend.)”

• Footnote:

  • Second place: some form of Quantum Consciousness

  • Third place: Eliminative Materialism / Illusionism, plus Neurobiological + Representational theories

Why He Loves the Maze

• Loves the “blizzard-like storm” of theories because he loves consciousness as “the central question of existence and sentience.”

Human Universality

• Consciousness inquiry unites people across all divides.

Closing Line

• Lifelong question: “Should a being who can perceive eternity be denied it?”

• Final humility: “But I won’t fool myself.”

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If you'd like, I can also produce:

• A 1-minute “spoken-style” summary,

• A version using only direct quotes,

• A thematic map of RLK’s philosophical outlook.