Let us conclude this philosophical trilogy of posts by referring to a third author (see image). Alan Moore suggested in conversation that artistic creation is magic. The creative/magical process is:
(i) nothing;
(ii) an idea in the creator's head;
(iii) the expression of that idea through the raw materials which, for a writer, start with his language;
(iv) a tangible, material artifact, e.g., a book, on sale to the public.
The artifact is the material embodiment of the idea or concept which, I think, was generated by a process that began in a material brain. Moore was trying to understand the nature of consciousness so he might by now have formulated a different view of the role of the brain. But, in any case, the idea originates somewhere in the mind and/or brain of a human being and is embodied in the raw materials of the English language, paper, ink etc. So I cannot find any conceptual space for Artos' notion of an embodied concept or tangible thought that is not physical matter.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
While I agree our physical brains are made of physical material, I don't believe our ideas and thoughts are material. I can think about physical things but my thoughts are not material.
Sean
Sean,
I suggest that thoughts are neither merely identical with processes in the brain nor ontologically distinct from them. When organismic sensitivity became conscious sensation, that was a qualitative transformation. A new quality cannot be understood reductively.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
But I still don't believe thoughts or ideas can be material. I can thinking about a physical object, such as a loaf of bread. But my thoughts are not THAT bread.
Sean
Sean,
By a mere "physical object," we mean an object that has material properties of mass, volume etc but that lacks mental properties, most basically awareness. The emergence of mental properties is a qualitative change within organisms. So, yes, your thoughts are not a "physical object," in this sense.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
It's good to sometimes come to an OCCASIONAL agreement! (Smiles) And I think this ties in with the mind/body problem.
Sean
Sean,
This is the mind-body question. What is the relationship between conscious and unconscious states of being?
Paul.
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