I also jumped into the middle of the thread with the following: The scientific method doesn’t operate in a philosophical vacuum. Philosophy plays a significant role in both establishing methodologies (Popper) and the interpretation of results… generally, if science cannot measure it, it’s not part of science…the demand for physical evidence of metaphysical entities… is not a valid request.
Following your good advice Epi, here is what I take as the OP’s basic claim:
Jesus lover addresses what I believe to be the primary weakness of materialism: its inability to account for the emergence of subjective experience out of nonconscious matter. While ‘I don’t know’ is a valid response and approaching the issue warrants a large measure of humility, the idea that science will someday ‘explain’ the phenomena fails to recognize the limits of the scientific method. This problem clearly falls within the philosophy of mind. As such, I maintain, once again, that the demand for physical proof of metaphysical entities is not a valid request, a request that only highlights the ignorance of those who do make that demand. JesusLover has issued a challenge to materialism. Materialism has so far failed to meet that challenge of providing an adequate theory of how subjective experience adheres to physical matter. Any takers?
Following your good advice Epi, here is what I take as the OP’s basic claim:
(May 7, 2012 at 12:03 pm)JesusLover Wrote: There are some things we cannot prove…
Using atheist logic I should therefore consider all other humans to not be self aware, sentient, conscious beings as they cannot 'prove' they have these qualities…Would it not be better to accept that I can never know if other people are self aware like me?
Jesus lover addresses what I believe to be the primary weakness of materialism: its inability to account for the emergence of subjective experience out of nonconscious matter. While ‘I don’t know’ is a valid response and approaching the issue warrants a large measure of humility, the idea that science will someday ‘explain’ the phenomena fails to recognize the limits of the scientific method. This problem clearly falls within the philosophy of mind. As such, I maintain, once again, that the demand for physical proof of metaphysical entities is not a valid request, a request that only highlights the ignorance of those who do make that demand. JesusLover has issued a challenge to materialism. Materialism has so far failed to meet that challenge of providing an adequate theory of how subjective experience adheres to physical matter. Any takers?
