Leaving Descartes is hard. If you pose the body/mind problem according to a consequence of his view then you will arrive at an analogous position. The connection between the brain (material) and the immaterial (consciousness) is like that between the extended and the unextended. The property P of the brain that is expected to account for consciousness was taken by the pineal gland. The part taken by god in guaranteeing that we are not ensorcelled by a demon is taken by a refusal to offer any sort of reason for the reality of the ‘external’ world. Mystery and God are convertible as any theologian will tell you.
When you pose the problem according to the Cartesian rubric your excogitation will have that shape.
No comments:
Post a Comment