Great quote. Something very similar to this was expressed by Darwin in the 19th century in some of his writings. Darwin speculated that if all his thoughts were merely the result of biochemical reactions and electrical impulses that ultimately have no purpose and simply obey blind laws of physics and chemistry, how could he trust any thought to be true? Alvin Plantinga, noted Christian Philosopher, also made the argument that if Naturalism is true, then ideas and thoughts are not about truthfulness but essentially about what brings about ones survival. If evolution is true, then the thoughts that we have are not selected for truthfulness or accuracy about reality but only for surviving in the environment. For example, if a caveman of the past thought that to be eaten by a sabertoothed tiger was good for him, yet this thought caused him to climb trees off the savanna, then he would survive to pass on his dna but his thinking would not be in line with reality. So, Plantinga points out that if evolution is true, then it refutes itself because we cannot even trust the concepts that make up the theory. The solution of the problem is that we must be more than biochemical machines. There must be some intangible essence that makes us more than electrical impulses. The mind is distinct from the brain.
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 04:55:16 +0000
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