The Immaterial Mind

[henry quirk]

"...is such a thing as a 'soul' or whatever you want to call it(?)"

not likely: at least not likely in the sense of an 'indwelling spirit'

as i self-inspect: i see no evidence of duality...no soul/body or mind/body or brain/body division

what i perceive is 'me' as a whole, as a unit, as separate and discrete from all of you; and as irreducible to parts and process and, therefore, indescribable by way of parts and process

certainly: i'm comprised of pieces, parts, and process but these parts, pieces, and processes fall 'beneath' me, fall 'within' me

the examination of parts and process can tell the inquisitive a lot about 'the flesh' but next to nothing about 'me'

to know about 'me' i must be inspected, interrogated, as 'myself'

so: i am not my brain, but my brain -- as locus for intellect and consciousness -- is a very important part of me

in the same vein: i don't have memories...i remember; i don't have a free will...i choose; etc.


"...there may be a non-material element to our minds, it's certainly very hard to account for consciousness without it"

i'm not sure i buy this, but, really: what bearing does it have on anything?

if i'm an embodied soul...so what?

if i'm a cobbled-together bio-machine...so what?

if i'm something else (mundane or supranatural) entirely...so what?

none of the above possibilities (or any others) have any real bearing on how i choose to comport myself in the world

if scientists, tomorrow, prove without a doubt that i'm just a bio-machine with no special relevance in the world, i should do 'what' because of this information?

i can't imagine such information having any effect on my life...my own, subjective, self-definition as 'henry quirk' trumps all objective definitions... --henry

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by henry quirk

..if scientists, tomorrow, prove without a doubt that i'm just a bio-machine with no special relevance in the world, i should do 'what' because of this information?

I, for one, would kill a lot more hobos. Without cause.

[henry quirk]

"I, for one, would kill a lot more hobos. Without cause."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!


"solipsist": a perspective having absolutely nothing to do with my own

read #47 again, within the context of the thread

*sigh*

[Cicero]

Originally Posted by henry quirk

'henry quirk' trumps all objective definitions... --henry

Except for solipsist.

Definition:

sol·ip·sism (slp-szm, slp-)
n. Philosophy
1. The theory that the self is the only thing that can be known and verified.
2. The theory or view that the self is the only reality.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Cicero

snip~ 2. The theory or view that the self is the only reality.

Yup, that's him.

[henry quirk]

"Yup, that's him."

if the 'him' you reference is cicero, then, i have no opinion not knowing the person

if the 'him' you reference is 'me', and if -- like cicero -- you believe me to be a solipsist, i have to ask how you come to this conclusion

nothing i've posted here, in this thread, in this forum, or on the net as a whole, could lead anyone to conclude i...

...believe knowledge of anything outside the mind is unjustified

or

...believe the self is all i know to exist

or

…confine reality to myself and my experiences

or

...believe nothing exists except my mind and the creations of my mind

or

...believe i alone exist or i alone am conscious

*shrug*

mayhap the best way to proceed: who is the 'him' you're talking 'bout?

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by Cicero

sol·ip·sism (slp-szm, slp-)
n. Philosophy
1. The theory that the self is the only thing that can be known and verified.

In the sense that I believe that cogito, ergo sum is the only conclusion that one can make with 100% certainty, I would probably technically count as a solipsist under definition one.

"God does not exist" is a different conclusion, so I obviously can't make it with 100% certainty. So I am also technically an agnostic.

In practice, though, I am an atheist who believes that other people exist.