Consciousness: Egnor on dualism: another example (General)

by dhw, Monday, August 06, 2018, 13:28 (2299 days ago) @ David Turell

dhw: The article does not mention a soul. If cognition depends on the plasticity of the brain, and if the brain rehones itself, that is evidence for materialism and not for dualism.

DAVID: No it isn't. The brain is the material side of dualism. As a sole actor it has the right to have its own methods of change, with or without input from the soul. the soul might conribue to brain change or may not.

Still missing the point. If an article tells us that cognition depends on the brain, and the brain changes itself in order to preserve its powers of cognition, the article is presenting the case for materialism as opposed to dualism. You are of course free to argue that you believe in dualism and the existence of an immaterial soul.

dhw: You are again conflating two separate issues. One is the definition of dualism, and the other is whether the soul exists (the dichotomy between materialism and dualism). The fact that drugs and diseases (including missing chemical products) change the way people think is evidence for materialism. Look at your own comment: “…a sick brain produces sick thoughts.” The belief that thought, consciousness, will etc. are produced by the body’s materials is the essence of materialism.

DAVID: Once again you miss the point you've made: You are your soul, and if you in life use your brain to think, so does your soul. And then certainly a sick brain will produce sick thoughts for both you and your soul. The case you make for materialism simply recognizes that the brain is material. Dualism looks at the source of the immaterial output from the brain.

Yet again you are conflating the two issues. I am not making a case for materialism. I am pointing out that if the brain is the source of thought (as in “a sick brain produces sick thoughts”), you have materialism. You have even confirmed this with your extraordinary last statement: if the immaterial output from the brain is thought, then the brain is the source of thought! And if the brain produces thought, you have materialism. I don’t know what you mean by “dualism looks at…” Dualism claims that the self consists of soul and brain, instead of just brain. If the brain produces thought, what does the soul do? Look at the thoughts the brain has produced?