Free will & the Conservation Laws

[AFTT47]

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.

The last part of what you said is silly IMHO. What is the brain but an organization of matter? There's nothing mystical about it. If that particular organization of matter is necessary for consciousness than if we want build a conscious computer, we will have to build something like an organic brain. We can't do that now but there's nothing in the law of physics which says we can't. Indeed, the fact that brains exist demonstrate there IS a way to do it. Maybe it can't be done with silicon (an assertion I don't believe has been demonstrated) but it sure as hell can be done. If nature can build a brain, so can we. It's just a matter of time to learn how.