Worst Arguments For Christianity

[Neo-Scholastic]

I made no mention of souls and I don’t need to. What is demonstrable is that mental properties, by virtue of their intentionality, are distinct from physical states. Physical reduction is only one among many possibilities.

If physical reduction is a possibility and is in fact the reality, then mental properties are not distinct from physical states. If physical reduction is true, then mental properties are physical states. You've proposed a dichotomy and collapsed it all in one breath. You're talking out of both sides of your mouth.

Perhaps I was unclear by trying to be diplomatic. Some people believe that physical reduction is possible. I am willing to be convinced but have not seen a conceivable means for even showing such to be the reality. I also think trying to make one the same as the other violates the Leibniz's Law of Identity. The only point I was trying to make was that physical reduction is not the automatic default position, as Eqlax suggests, since other reasonable alternates, like phenomenalism, are more coherent, even if they have their own deficiencies.

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... while physical processes are readily demonstrable in every respect, any additional mental or spiritual source you might want to claim is not. ...Physical things exist, and you haven't bothered to demonstrate that there's anything more.

Non-physical properties are also easily demonstrated: triangularity, the truth preserving quality of logical propositions, etc. Unless of course you opt for nominalism or conceptualism, both of which crash and burn under the weight of their own paradoxes.

... Your entire argument hinges on the idea that physical properties cannot generate intentionality on their own, and hence must be distinct from the mind... which is the very claim you're attempting to justify with this argument.

Why should I believe that they can?

... Where did you demonstrate that physical states cannot generate intentionality?

And you cannot demonstrate that God doesn’t exist. I would like to see you try using only material and efficient causes to communicate a the goal directness of any physical process.

... Physical properties are easily demonstrable to everyone...you've given no real argument for the existence of this other thing you think exists.

You have already done so by saying that your life has meaning and purpose. Please, describe one, just one, physical property of meaning.