Human Consciousness: stimuli, analog to digital (Humans)

by dhw, Saturday, September 17, 2016, 13:10 (2988 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: IMHO all the experimental evidence points to God.-Dhw: ..I still don't see how the above conclusions can possibly be tested by experiments.-DAVID: They can't. At some point it is faith from the evidence we have.-dhw: If your conclusions cannot be based on experiments, how can you claim that they are based on experimental evidence? Your faith is the result of your speculations about the possible shape of the unobservable world, and you have designed an explanation that cannot be tested.-DAVID: I follow Adler. I have enough evidence to feel beyond a reasonable doubt God exists. I reached a point where I took Pascal's leap. That point is the complexity of biochemical functions to create life. I understand you can't take the leap, but I wonder if it is due to your insufficient understanding of that complexity, which is why I keep presenting it. But it may be that you seem to demand proof of everything, which is not possible.-You know that I accept the complexity argument, and I have the greatest respect for your faith. I have merely pointed out that your beliefs are not based on EXPERIMENTAL evidence, as you claimed above. Experimental evidence suggests that the truth of your belief can be scientifically tested, and it can't. -I am well aware that proof of everything is not possible, but while I am unable to share the atheist's faith in chance, I find it equally impossible to share the theist's faith in a sourceless mind that can create and encompass countless solar systems which, just like the many species of living organisms, simply appear to randomly come and go. -In our discussions on evolution, I have based a design theory on the findings of some eminent biologists, who claim that microorganisms are sentient, intelligent, cognitive beings. You insist that an organism without a brain cannot be conscious (not to be confused with human self-awareness), even though you contradict yourself through your belief that consciousness does not depend on the brain. “But it may be that you seem to demand proof of everything [with the one exception of your God], which is not possible.”