48. Jonathan Balcombe on Animal Rights (Podcast)

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Originally Posted by Open Mind

The human brain does not store procedural and long term memories like a filing cabinet or computer system, if you think so Paul, provide links you have 'paying attention' to that are not just correlations but show the direction of causation.

Who said it does?

When I smash a person's brain, his "mind" malfunctions. I don't know how to test the hypothesis that I can smash a person's "mind" and have her brain malfunction. So far, the correlation is all in one direction.

Now just as materialists argue matter creates mind ... one one could argue roads evolved cars, since car movements correlate where roads go, then one could then argue that the car wheels following the road correlate with the car drivers feet and hand movements proving the road guides the wheels that in turn move the driver. Solved by logic that cares not about direction of causation.

I can find cars without roads. I cannot find minds without brains.

Instead of giving me '22,880' citations (correlations?) with the word 'consciousness'.... give me some decent ones that actually show the causal direction.

Not my job, man. I'm just pointing out that you're not paying attention.

~~ Paul

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Originally Posted by David Bailey

Yes, according to the standard position, deciding whether something is alive or is conscious is just a matter of definition - like deciding if Pluto is a planet!

Is that really true - I really doubt it.

I don't understand. How could it not be true? Are you suggesting there is some god-given absolute truth about whether something is alive/dead, conscious/unconscious?

This is another example in which defining consciousness involves pulling in a lot of hidden assumptions. If someone 'defined' consciousness as "a creature's window on the divine reality" you would object bitterly, but you do something similar all the time!

I have no idea what you're talking about. What do I do all the time?

~~ Paul