Information and free will (Introduction)

by dhw1, Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 19:49 (4777 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Emotions and how they affect the body: the brain's memory reaction to those emotions. We all recognize that very upsetting events will tend to fade. Does all this affect free will?

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/2011/10/24/brain_chemistry_emotional_...

Once again, my thanks to David for drawing our attention to this rather touching article. I’d say it has even wider implications than free will, since it graphically illustrates the general problems facing the materialist view of the brain. We know that emotions affect the brain and body. They may trigger chemical reactions – some harmful, some beneficial – but these processes are a result and not a cause. So what part of the self actually feels the emotions that cause the material reactions? Christie Wilcox writes: “Where music comes from, or even why we like and create music, is still a mystery.” The same can be said of all our creative, aesthetic and emotional experiences. Does one part of the brain affect other parts (materialist view), or is there something immaterial and independent of the brain that affects it?