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I think this is a wonderful topic. I find several lethal reasons why one cannot reduce the mind
i.e. Consciousness to simple physical properties and events. 1. Physical cause/effect
relationships are fixed and determined. That is if the mind and all its capacities are simply
physical-biochemical events then there are no such things as free will, agency, choice or will in
anything we think, say or do. In other words, there is no personal responsibility for
anything--because "my chemicals made me do it." whether it be something heroic or demonic. 2. It
makes nonsense out of everything we think to be true about our minds and our ability to act freely.
There is no free will. My words that I type literally have to be, since I cannot alter my chemistry
in my brain. 3. It makes nonsense out of any discussion such as we are having right now. Every
word was destined to be uttered by this locked-in chain reaction of mental events. 4. There are no
moral choices; so anything I do does not deserve praise or blame, since I have no agency or no
capability to make a decision. So, it is absurd to think that brain chemistry and mental capacities
are identical. Certainly, there is in this life, intimate correlation between one's mental states
and one's brain states. But correlation does not mean causation. The problem of consciousness is
the big PROBLEM in every naturalist's world view. It is a sticky, nasty, unrelenting fact, that
truly does make the view that natural events are all there is quite silly and nonsensical. To think
that someday we will explain consciousness to be pure physical events is worse than the "God of the
gaps" mentality. |
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Consciousness is so much more than biochemistry. The brain is just a physical entity. It cannot
explain how we experience non-physical things like thoughts. |
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I don't think so. |
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This is a difficult subject to give a definite answer on (for me anyway). Without the proper
biological components, your consciousness will not function properly (giving rise to mental
disorders and such). So, at the very least, your genetic makeup plays a large role in your
consciousness. But there’s still things about the mind that aren’t understood, begging the
question “Is chemical reactions all there is to it?” |
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Consciousness is simply the result of a biochemical function that God created. |
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There majority of experts think that consciousness is merely a biochemical illusion useful as a
decision making engine. Of course just how smugly satisfied they feel about this may be proof they
are wrong. |
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29 Oct 2009 18:07
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