Identity (Identity)

by George Jelliss , Crewe, Sunday, August 30, 2009, 09:38 (5563 days ago) @ dhw

George: As far as I'm concerned ones mind is the activity of ones brain. This is a form of "dualism" since it says that mind and brain are different concepts, but it is also a form of "materialism", since ones brain is composed of matter. I really don't see that there is any philosophical problem here at all. If there is any problem it is just in our primitive knowledge of neuroscience, that is of exactly how our brains work. But I suppose that's what makes it a "philosophical" problem as opposed to a real one!
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> The fact that you attribute the "problem" to our primitive knowledge of neuroscience simply means that you believe you know the answer before it has been found. You may be right, of course, but you have no more evidence for your belief than those who think that our minds are part of a universal intelligence. - This is the problem I have all the time in attempting to argue on this forum. The only reliable evidence we have is that we are made of atoms. The evidence for this is overwhelming. Yet you disregard this evidence completely! There is no evidence for "universal intelligence" or disembodied minds other than subjective speculation and fanciful imagination. Perhaps we are all part of some "Matrix" style plot, or part of the Red King's dream. Perhaps we are just programs in some supercomputer. There is no end to such imaginative speculations. My views are solidly based on what we actually know.

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GPJ