According to the "'astonishing hypothesis' our thoughts, sensations, joys and aches consist entirely of physiological activity in the tissues of the brain." In other words "consciousness is the activity of the brain" and thus there is no soul, no spiritual NDEs, and no life after death. Bummer! But we know better, now don't we?
"...when the physiological activity of the brain ceases, as far as anyone can tell the person's consciousness goes out of existence. Attempts to contact the souls of the dead (a pursuit of serious scientists a century ago) turned up only cheap magic tricks, and near death experiences are not the eyewitness reports of a soul parting company from the body but symptoms of oxygen starvation in the eyes and brain."
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... 94,00.html
Interesting article by Time no less.
The Mystery of Consciousness
Moderator: Super Moderators
Are we Men of Science, or Devo?
Sad in this day and age that scientific issues still need to be discussed in the context of overcoming religious superstitions==or any others?
the current discussion accepts the chemical/electrical/genetic/environmental model of consciousness and has moved on to machine based artificial intelligence.
I haven't seen Pinker write about that, but I assume he has. Darn--just added to my list of things to look up. When will WATSON be available to just tell us while we sleep and we can wake up each day smarter than when we went to sleep?
the current discussion accepts the chemical/electrical/genetic/environmental model of consciousness and has moved on to machine based artificial intelligence.
I haven't seen Pinker write about that, but I assume he has. Darn--just added to my list of things to look up. When will WATSON be available to just tell us while we sleep and we can wake up each day smarter than when we went to sleep?
Last edited by bobbo on 12-09-2011 12:20 PM, edited 1 time in total.
Vote all "NO NEW TAXES" Politicians out of office! This is killing the American Dream of having a Middle Class.