(May 23, 2010 at 3:02 pm)The_Flying_Skeptic Wrote:(May 23, 2010 at 2:10 pm)Watson Wrote: No, that's not argument from ignorance all. It's a perfectly logical request for proof that conciousness is not, in fact, immaterial.
your request is just as logical as my request for proof that consciousness is immaterial. maybe we should just be agnostic on whether or not consciousness is material or immaterial?
No, I don't think that we need to be agnostic about it at all. Consciousness and other mental phenomena are imo best seen as high-level descriptions of purely physical, material phenomena. Theres a useful analogy with computer programs. A program isn't itself a physical thing, but it is a high-level description of a physical state of affairs.
Anyone who wants to argue for an immaterial mind needs to explain how such a thing could possibly have a causal effect on the physical world.
He who desires to worship God must harbor no childish illusions about the matter but bravely renounce his liberty and humanity.
Mikhail Bakunin
A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything
Friedrich Nietzsche
Mikhail Bakunin
A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything
Friedrich Nietzsche
