From: Scott Roberts (jse885@localnet.com)
Date: Thu Apr 28 2005 - 05:46:22 BST
Ham,
Ham asked us to choose:
Statement A.
"Ontologically, [its] materialism means that matter, nature, the observable
world is taken 'without reservations' as real in its own right, neither
deriving its reality from any supernatural or transcendental source, nor
dependent for its existence on the mind of man. It is considered
scientifically evident that matter is prior to mind both temporally and
logically in the sense that mind never appears except as an outgrowth of
matter, and must be explained accordingly. Space and time are viewed as
forms of the existence of matter." [Dagobert Runes, philosopologist]
Statement B.
"I believe that consciousness and its contents are all that exists. ...The
world of our daily experience-the world of tables, chairs, stars and people,
with their attendant shapes, smells, feels and sounds-is a species-specific
user interface to a realm far more complex, a realm whose essential
character is conscious. ... If this be right, if consciousness is
fundamental, then we should not be surprised that, despite centuries of
effort by the most brilliant minds, there is as yet no physical theory of
consciousness, no theory that explains how mindless matter and energy or
fields could be, or cause, conscious experience." [Donald Hoffman,
cognitive scientist]
Oh, one additional question. Do you feel that a third statement would be
required to adequately represent the major reality perspectives of the MD
group?
Scott:
I would just call (B) immaterialism, since Platonic idealism is not
consciousness-centric, and other idealisms (Berkeley, Kant, Hegel, Bradley)
all have their quirks. In any case, I've stated several times my notion of
"primary reality": everything is semiotic. This is, I suppose, a variation
on (B). I feel it is well expressed by Aquinas: "The object of nature is
established between two intelligences."
Where is the Hoffman quote from, BTW?
- Scott
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