This is quite an intense article on a materialistic, supposedly scientific look at consciousness: The Mystery of Consciousness -- Friday, Jan. 19, 2007
What made this article thought-provoking for me was the question: What if scientists end up understanding how consciousness works and can explain (and manipulate!) it entirely by measuring (and simulating) brain waves and movements? If it could be shown that the feeling that "I exist and can choose" is something physical, something I can turn on and off as I please - would that challenge the Biblical belief that such a thing as the "soul" exists?
In the article the author seems to equate "soul" and "consciousness" a lot, in the end stating that if (and in his view, when) scientists achieve the goal of explaining consciousness, it's basically a death blow to any reasonable faith in an after-life.
Sorry, I don't really follow that logic - for me the soul is more than just consciousness. What I do find intriguing is one of the most interesting justifications I've heard yet for atheistic morality. I'm not saying I agree with the author, but at least he's trying to make sense. :) I'd love to hear any thoughts both of you regular readers of mine have about this article, if any.
Montag, Januar 22, 2007
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I have serious doubts that scientists will ever succeed in explaining consciousness of tapping the mystery of the mind. However, supposing the "spirit" genes are discovered, acting as if this sounds the death knell for faith begs some huge questions. Such as: If God chose to hardwire humans for spirituality, and we discover the mechanism he used, does this disprove the existence of God?
We may as well argue that because we now know how babies develop in the womb, we can stop believing in these silly "creation stories."
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