"'Their abilities naturally led Chereionite scientists to concentrate on psychology and neurology.'" (p. 237)
Neurology and psychology are sciences with different although causally connected subject-matters: objectively observable brain states and subjectively experienced mental states. Can the Chereionites unite these sciences?
We do not attribute consciousness to a mechanical toy because we can account for the toy's movements without attributing consciousness to it. We attribute consciousness to mobile organisms because this is the simplest way to account for such organsims' movements. However, we can fully describe neural firings and interactions without ascribing consciousness to them. Consciousness is a property of an organism, not of one part of it, and emerged from organismic sensitivity.
Fluidity is caused by and reducible to molecular motions. Solidity is caused by and reducible to molecular cohesion. However, consciousness is caused by but not reducible to neural interactions. Since neurons are governed by physical laws that do not explain consciousness, is the link between objectivity and subjectivity on the subatomic quantum level? Quantum mechanics and consciousness are both mysterious and the former involves an observer effect.
2 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
You are touching on the mind/body problem, and not all philosophers would agree with what you wrote above. I think Mortimer Adler had different arguments in his book THE DIFFERENCE OF MAN AND THE DIFFERENCE IT MAKES. But it's been a very long time since I read it.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Of course not every philosopher would agree. All that any of us can do is state some views and reasons for them. That is the nature of philosophy.
Paul.
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