RE: Question for Atheists
August 27, 2014 at 1:16 pm
(This post was last modified: August 27, 2014 at 1:24 pm by Mudhammam.)
This is an excellent question, although I think it would be more apt to title the thread a “Question for Materialists or Physical Determinists,” rather than “Atheists.” As far as I know, there’s nothing barring an atheist from being a dualist.
This morning on my way home from work I was thinking about ways one could possibly test for the proposition of some type of dualism, or at least discredit the common view of physical monists, and I came up with this experiment. I’d like to get your thoughts on it (my language may be a little vague as I’m no expert on brain chemistry and their functions, but hopefully my point will be clear).
Last time I checked, scientists had mapped out about 4% of a typical, model brain. When they do eventually have the whole brain and its processes computed, my experiment then would be this:
Have two persons think the following idea, say: “The red apple fell from the tree.” Examine what neurons and/or clusters of neurons are activated and what synaptical firings occur for the first person, slowing down the computations immensely to view the exact structure of the physical process in place. Have a team of scientists see if the second person, possessing that same idea, shows a similar pattern in their neural activity. Try it in different languages, and see then if the same brain structure is responsible for the same abstract thoughts, and whereas the each person's language symbols differ, perhaps that would show brain regions for those specific processes differing as well. Could a scientist, if this was ever feasible, read the structure and then determine that "You were thinking about a blonde with B-size cups" or "You thought of a man with a uni-brow and mustache holding an ice cream cone?" I have no idea if an experiment like this would possible. Someone mentioned the bits of zeroes and ones in a computer; can a computer expert read a line of bits and determine what the exact function is from the “manifest perspective” (for lack of a better phrase)? If the physical processes of the brain were completely mapped out, and yet the “thoughts” for each person still appeared completely private and unpredictable, I think this would be a significant problem for materialism/physicalism, and might be a point for those who argue that mental phenomena cannot be reduced to physical processes.
What do you think?
This morning on my way home from work I was thinking about ways one could possibly test for the proposition of some type of dualism, or at least discredit the common view of physical monists, and I came up with this experiment. I’d like to get your thoughts on it (my language may be a little vague as I’m no expert on brain chemistry and their functions, but hopefully my point will be clear).
Last time I checked, scientists had mapped out about 4% of a typical, model brain. When they do eventually have the whole brain and its processes computed, my experiment then would be this:
Have two persons think the following idea, say: “The red apple fell from the tree.” Examine what neurons and/or clusters of neurons are activated and what synaptical firings occur for the first person, slowing down the computations immensely to view the exact structure of the physical process in place. Have a team of scientists see if the second person, possessing that same idea, shows a similar pattern in their neural activity. Try it in different languages, and see then if the same brain structure is responsible for the same abstract thoughts, and whereas the each person's language symbols differ, perhaps that would show brain regions for those specific processes differing as well. Could a scientist, if this was ever feasible, read the structure and then determine that "You were thinking about a blonde with B-size cups" or "You thought of a man with a uni-brow and mustache holding an ice cream cone?" I have no idea if an experiment like this would possible. Someone mentioned the bits of zeroes and ones in a computer; can a computer expert read a line of bits and determine what the exact function is from the “manifest perspective” (for lack of a better phrase)? If the physical processes of the brain were completely mapped out, and yet the “thoughts” for each person still appeared completely private and unpredictable, I think this would be a significant problem for materialism/physicalism, and might be a point for those who argue that mental phenomena cannot be reduced to physical processes.
What do you think?
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
