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Not Merely False

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“We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men” (George Orwell).

The following statements are so obvious as to be considered truisms.

1. The primordial datum: I am subjectively self-aware.

2. It is not possible even in principle to account for mental facts, such as the primordial datum, on the basis of physical facts. They are different sorts of things; therefore one cannot account for the other. Trying to account for subjective self-awareness by suggesting it is an epiphenomenon of the electro-chemical process of the brain is like saying the color blue can be reduced to its constituent banana peels.

3. It follows that a reductionist materialism is not merely false but obviously false.

4. Just as obviously, it does not follow that committed materialists will admit that reductionist materialism is false, for they have reasons to put their faith in their metaphysical commitments that have nothing to do with the evidence and logic of the matter.

Comments
StephenB, are you trying to say that Barry didn't make the following claim? "The following statements are so obvious as to be considered truisms." It seems quite obvious to me what he is saying. Let me paraphrase. If you disagree with any of these you are wrong because Barry says that you are wrong. It is a truism that, by the way Barry words this OP, and others, he is not welcoming honest discussion. He is only welcoming cheerleaders for his opinion.Acartia_bogart
September 11, 2014
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That is not Barry’s claim.
Barry and I are saying the same thing. I just used different words.StephenB
September 11, 2014
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StephenB: "It is obvious that matter cannot reflect on itself." My argument is not whether or not this is true. That is not Barry's claim. His claim is that it is an obvious truism. It is this claim that I have a problem with. By making this claim he is essentially stating that he will not accept any dissenting views. Then it seems to me that there is no point in him writing this OP.Acartia_bogart
September 11, 2014
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It is obvious that matter cannot reflect on itself.StephenB
September 11, 2014
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The one thing we all know more about than anyone else is ‘ourselves’ – what we think and believe. For materialism to be true, core things I know about myself would be false even though I know them to be true. No free will, no right or wrong – good or bad, the love for my wife and beauty I see in her are not real but merely a chemical stimulus for reproduction, the care and love I have for my son are just selfish gene reproduction, my consciousness is reduced to electro-chemical brain activity and I have no ‘mind’ or ‘self’. Huxley asked, “How is it that anything so remarkable as a state of consciousness comes about as a result of irritating nervous tissue?” Or even more to the point, if the brain secretes thoughts the way the liver does bile - why are they ‘my’ thoughts? How would I know anything, if this were true? For materialism to be true – we would all be delusional.Heartlander
September 11, 2014
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I absolutely, totally and inconvertibally agree with all 4, 100%, yessiree. Because I don't want to be banned.Graham2
September 11, 2014
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AB - I have to admit, I do not understand how someone maintains a position of materialism. I know that I can't prove it to you, or convince you that you are wrong, but I can express my utter frustration that either you just can't see the logical incoherence of your position, or I am blind to some logical way to understand the generation of self-awareness from mere chemicals. See, once one admits self-awareness, I don't see a good reason to believe in materialism. You belie yourself by saying that you choose to believe materialism based on evidence. Who is it that chooses, who does the evaluation, who makes the choice between the admittedly abstract concepts of materialism and theism? Most arguments I can see a logical reason to believe the other position. I am sorry, in this case, I just can't. Do you think you can explain it to me? Please give it a try --- if you dare.JDH
September 11, 2014
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Barry, with all respect, stating that these are truisms does not make them so. And ridiculing anyone who does not accept these as truisms, as you and others have a habit of doing, does also not make it true. If anything, it detracts from the arguments that you are trying to make.Acartia_bogart
September 11, 2014
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