This post at LiveScience illustrates an interesting aspect of the attempts of materialist science to understand consciousness.
It’s actually just a list of “ some of the best contenders for a theory of consciousness.” And they are not very good.
Consciousness is one of those fields where, every so often, someone can claim that we have just about figured it out. And that’s not true.
But the main thing to see is that it doesn’t matter.
The field, as presently constituted, exists to keep out serious analysis, not further it. That won’t change any time soon.
(At least we haven’t heard recently from perceptronium man. 😉 )
See also: What great physicists have said about immateriality and consciousness
The notion of materialistic science ever ‘Closing in on consciousness’ reminds me of the story of Baron von Münchhausen who claimed he could pull himself (and the horse he was sitting on) out of a swamp by his own hair.
Or as Dr. Eben Alexander put it:
Or as Max Planck so aptly put it:
So simple a child can see it, and yet the swamp is filled with materialistic PhDs tugging away at their hair trying vainly to pull themselves out. 🙂
Baron von Münchhausen in the swamp – painting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.....00x789.jpg
Good metaphor, BA!