The coincidence of quoting a description of cosmic static before meditating prompted philosophical reflection. I think that the following proposition is valid although it is philosophically disputed. Radio waves detectable as static existed before there were any conscious beings to detect them whereas, in the phrase, "mental quiet and chatter," the word "mental" presupposes consciousness despite the acknowledged paradox of unconscious mental processes. Organic processes and many neuronic interactions are unconscious although some neuronic interactions somehow generate consciousness.
These propositions accord with empirical science and with philosophical materialism. However, theists and philosophical idealists claim that consciousness is not generated by any material process but instead exists independently of such processes. This theory can now be regarded as outmoded. Conscious processes differ qualitatively from unconscious processes and can seem to occur independently of them. However, empirically, consciousness occurs only in organisms and was specifically generated by the kind of organism-environment interactions that caused the evolution of central nervous systems.
Hissing and crackle are meaningless whereas mental chatter is verbal, words have meanings and meanings exist only because some conscious beings use certain sounds and signs in specific ways. Thus, there is no inherent meaning in marks on paper that look like "To be or not to be" or "1+1=2." Such marks could arbitrarily have been given alternative meanings or have remained meaningless.
Why make an issue of the difference between meaningless outer crackle and meaningful inner chatter? Because, while many people accept empirical science, they also continue to accept philosophical idealism, believing in the independence or immaterialty of consciousness.
2 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I agree with that last part, "...believing in the independence or immateriality of consciousness." I simply don't BUY any kind of materialism, largely because I found John Wright's arguments against materialism to be more than convincing.
Sean
Sean,
But remember my materialism is not the theory that conscious processes can be reduced to/entirely explained in terms of unconscious processes. Rather, consciousness is a new quality that has emerged within sensitive organisms as they responded to environmental alterations just as a new, third, qualitatively different color emerges from the mixing of two familiar colors.
Paul.
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