Saturday, September 16, 2006

Dalai Lama Challenges the Idea of Neurologically Situated Consciousness In New Book





While it is certainly true that mainstream science insists that there must be a physical explanation for consciousness, the empirical evidence supporting this view is tenuous. Since scientists have devised objective means of measuring all kinds of physical phenomena, it is remarkable that no scientific instruments can detect whether or not consciousness is present in inorganic matter (e.g., computers or robots), in plants (e.g., insect-eating plants), or in animals (e.g., single cells, insects, human fetuses, or normal human adults). Given that consciousness is invisible to all known means of scientific measurement--unlike all other kinds of physical phenomena--the burden of proof for the physical status of consciousness should be on those who make this assertion, not on those who question it.

3 comments:

Mac said...

Nerdshit is run out of Kansas, believe it or not!

Mac said...

Kansas seems to have interesting pockets of high intelligence (presnet company included, of course!)

Who, me? I'm in Missouri ... which is essentally the same thing, I guess.

None other than William Burroughs hailed from St. Louis. Somehow that cheers me up.

razorsmile said...

Since scientists have devised objective means of measuring all kinds of physical phenomena, it is remarkable that no scientific instruments can detect whether or not consciousness is present in inorganic matter (e.g., computers or robots), in plants (e.g., insect-eating plants), or in animals (e.g., single cells, insects, human fetuses, or normal human adults).

*hisses at it like a vampire. Or Gollum*

"That logic is NOT The Precious! We hateses it, yes! It burneses us so and we hates it!"

Regarding burden of proof, um, no. You're the ones claiming there's a non-physical property. *You* prove it.

Bah.