Thought experiment: A man, lets call him “Joe”, has never encountered an automobile before. He knows nothing about how automobiles are made or how they operate. Now, lets imagine Joe is exposed to a vehicle for the first time. The catch, he has no access to the cab, cannot see into it, and has no knowledge of what happens inside. So, Joe opens the hood and explores the engine. He also gets the vehicle on a lift and sees how other systems connect to the engine, etc. He views the vehicle as it is operating and he has opportunities to experiment with how removing from, adding to, or changing the systems influences the operation. Based on this information, Joe comes back to you with his conclusions. He explains that the engine is very important to the operation of the vehicle and that by removing parts or changing/replacing things such as fluids, plugs, you are capable of influencing how it runs. You then ask him if it is possible that the automobile requires a self-aware driver in order to operate. Joe thinks for a minute, and replies, “no”. He explains that the engine seems to control the vehicle, it is very complex, and has shown to be necessary for the vehicle to operate, wherefore, he further explains, this is evidence that a self-aware driver is unnecessary. Would you agree that is a logical conclusion to draw based on the evidence? There seems to be evidence that, like an engine, the brain is very important for the body to function. However, I have never witnessed an engine that worked without an operator (or a manufacturer for that matter), wherefore I would not assume this as evidence to conclude that the brain is doing the driving. Can someone point to evidence I may be missing? What evidence has made you confident that the brain causes “mind” and is the controller of the body systems?
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 04:14:15 +0000
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