RE: What philosophical evidence is there against believing in non-physical entities?
September 1, 2016 at 12:55 am
I had edited my previous post and then saw this reply, but I don't think the changes were that substantial except a note I included at the bottom about why I think I was not daydreaming.
I didn't go back and say *maybe* I was day dreaming as long as it's an altered state. I mentioned day dreaming as an example of an altered state because you had excluded it as qualifying as one and did not define what you considered to be an altered state of mind. But it is one even according to the definition you provided. Day dreaming occurs in the theta wave state.
Really, by your argument it would be unsupportable for me to ever claim to have day dreamed since I could not at the time measure my brain to determine if I was in the theta brain wave state.
I am having trouble with the quote button not being as familiar with this forum. You made a statement a few posts back I took to be a reference to subjective states although perhaps you were referring only to physical changes in the brain which unlike reported subjective states are demonstrable and with which I would agree:
"Yes, there is, you referenced it yourself, in that altered states have been recorded. There's no way for -you- to do so because you are referring to anecdotes. You did not have any equipment available. As such I can't know that they -were- altered states in the sense you previously referenced, and neither can you."
I have been describing experiences especially those involving unusual audial and visual perceptions as altered states. Hallucinations are mentioned as examples of altered states in psychological literature, but no, I cannot prove that I was not in the Beta state. I have had an EEG scan before which did detect unusual electrical activity during a time when I was having some less intense unusual perceptual experiences, although I do not know what it involved.
If I understand your argument correctly it seems to me that no one should claim that (s)he has ever experienced an altered state, even day dreaming, without having their brain activity measured during that experience.
I didn't go back and say *maybe* I was day dreaming as long as it's an altered state. I mentioned day dreaming as an example of an altered state because you had excluded it as qualifying as one and did not define what you considered to be an altered state of mind. But it is one even according to the definition you provided. Day dreaming occurs in the theta wave state.
Really, by your argument it would be unsupportable for me to ever claim to have day dreamed since I could not at the time measure my brain to determine if I was in the theta brain wave state.
I am having trouble with the quote button not being as familiar with this forum. You made a statement a few posts back I took to be a reference to subjective states although perhaps you were referring only to physical changes in the brain which unlike reported subjective states are demonstrable and with which I would agree:
"Yes, there is, you referenced it yourself, in that altered states have been recorded. There's no way for -you- to do so because you are referring to anecdotes. You did not have any equipment available. As such I can't know that they -were- altered states in the sense you previously referenced, and neither can you."
I have been describing experiences especially those involving unusual audial and visual perceptions as altered states. Hallucinations are mentioned as examples of altered states in psychological literature, but no, I cannot prove that I was not in the Beta state. I have had an EEG scan before which did detect unusual electrical activity during a time when I was having some less intense unusual perceptual experiences, although I do not know what it involved.
If I understand your argument correctly it seems to me that no one should claim that (s)he has ever experienced an altered state, even day dreaming, without having their brain activity measured during that experience.
