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Old 11-30-2007, 01:16 PM
Paul C. Anagnostopoulos Paul C. Anagnostopoulos is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Interesting Ian
Consciousness cannot in principle be scientifically explained. Consciousness is a basic existent.
This is a cop-out that allows people to answer all queries about mind with "Well, it just falls out of the fact that everything is mindstuff." Note that physicists have fundamental existents, too, but they do not use these existents as god-of-the-gaps excuses for not answering questions. Or, at least, if there are uncaused effects, they are simple ones from which the bigger puzzle is built.

It is possible that consciousness is a fundamental existent whose attributes and behavior are unfathomable. I don't think we should rest on that assumption quite yet.

~~ Paul
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