(August 16, 2010 at 6:08 pm)tackattack Wrote: 1- Primitive people didn't know about anything other that brains, because when they broke in someone's head it spilled out, but they had no knowledge of function.
2-More advanced man postulated that the self as an identity was an abstract construct and resided in the brain.
3-It was then postulated that manipulating the brain affected the "self" (furthermore mentioned as mind)
4-Hypothesis was made that when the brain dies the consciousness dies.
The disconnect is with 2 and 3 making 4 fallacious. Without completely analyzing the mind brain connection no further conclusions can be made.
Bollocks. We know that the personality or "self" is directly affected by manipulation of the physical brain, such as tumors. Patients with tumors can have dramatic personality changes dependent on where the tumor forms, or where sections of the brain are removed, or were damaged during the procedure.
Quote: I've referenced an article somewhere in this forum (we've talked about this before), but I'm sure google would be your friend here, about people surviving brain death. There are actually a few out there. Here's the question If the brain is the ONLY repository where the mind is imprinted, when the brain dies, how can someone still have an identity?
Surviving brain death with a personality? Lmao what a crock of shit. Brain dead is as dead as you can get, it shuts down your bodily functions, breathing, heart beat etc. These can be sustained artificially, but the person is now biological mechanics, not a living being. They certainly do not have a personality/identity.
Remember, family members giving an identity to the corpse does not mean the corpse has an identity of it's own.
Quote: Before you answer I'm aware that some memories can be lost, some likes or dislikes could be changed, different phobias, etc.. I acknowledge all that stuff. I'm talking about the I. When you say, " I want an ice cream" I'm not talking about the wants, desires and personalities.. I'm talking about the "I" in that phrase.
I as in "the being thinking these thoughts". There is no evidence of though being anything other than material processes, nor any area where the electrochemical processes of the brain are inadequate in accounting for functionality. To assume something else is going on without any logical necessity or evidence in indication makes you the possessor of yet another irrational belief.
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