(February 28, 2016 at 2:49 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote:(February 28, 2016 at 2:38 pm)Jehanne Wrote: I am a materialist and do not believe that humans, non-human animals, plants, etc., have souls, spirits or any other "non-material" substance. If the Conservation Laws of Nature (Energy, Momentum, Angular Momentum, etc.) are immutable and without exception, then is not human (or animal) free will an illusion? Granted that the brain is irreducibly complex, but given enough hypothetical (infinite?) computing power, is not the entire Universe deterministic? Hence, free will is an illusion?
I agree that free will is illusory (just because actions feel free doesn't mean they are), but wherever did you get the notion that the human brain is irreducibly complex?
Boru
The brain is irreducibly complex in that it is much more than 0s & 1s; after all, has anyone simulated a human or mammalian brain? The answer, of course, is, "Yes," but such have all been very poor to poor simulations. So far, consciousness exists only in brains and not in computers, and in my opinion, computers will never have consciousness. For one, most of the human brain is fat, or myelin, which acts as an insulator but also as a messenger, but, I am not expert. So, whatever makes up consciousness is likely to be found in wetware and not inorganic materials, which make-up computers.