Keith,
So far, quantum physics tells us that the electrons in my brain that are producing personal experiences of consciousness and free-will are also having simultaneous effects on electrons somewhere elsewhere in the universe, even at its furthest ends -- if ends there be. Might it also be the case that electrons elsewhere in the universe are affecting those in my head? Me, Hadn't heard this stated as such before. From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Keith Hudson Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 5:39 AM To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, , EDUCATION Subject: [Futurework] Where's my consciousness? A brilliant op-ed by a brilliant scientist appeared in the Los Angeles Times of 1 April. It suggests that we shouldn't be worried if the universe doesn't have a purpose. It is headed "A universe without purpose" and is written by Lawrence M. Krauss who heads the Origins Project at Arizona State University. He implies that all good people (that is, sensible people, lay-people as well as scientists) should be comfortable with the fact. His key sentence is: "For many, to live in a universe that may have no purpose, and no creator, is unthinkable." Then, in the next paragraph, he leads off with: "But science has taught us to think the unthinkable." Well . . . for one thing, the sentence is self-contradictory. We cannot think about what we cannot think about. For another, the main thing -- the only thing -- that science teaches us is that whatever we may happen to believe now may, in fact, turn out to be wrong. In fact, belief in a particular scientific theory is no different in kind from a particular religious belief. The only difference is time-scale. A particular religious belief may last for generations or centuries or even millennia before it is "disproved". It changes when the surrounding culture has become sufficiently dissonant so that, usually, a chief spokesman (together with a close-knit group surrounding him) announces a replacement belief or a modification that sits more comfortably with the new culture. His flock usually adopt the new belief pretty instantly or, sometimes, a maverick youngster decides he wants to keep with the old "purity" and starts a new schism. On the other hand, as soon as a scientific spokesman announces a new belief, then other scientists will immediately try to devise a new culture (a controlled experiment) which will seek to disprove it. If the experiment is successful then the new belief is abandoned, or modified or it's substituted by an even newer belief. The point is that the belief is usually challenged well within the lifetime of the innovator. Science is a history of disproofs rather than a grand revelation. But, essentially, there's no difference between scientific belief and religious belief. They are both seeking some sort of coherent explanation of the universe and life -- almost exclusively human life in the case of religious belief. I rather think that Richard Dawkins' life-long, over-aggressive arguments with religious believers has done science, and evolutionary biology in particular, a lot of damage. As for me, I remain very uncomfortable that the universe may not have a purpose, whether self-generated or initiated by something else. Until science can come up with a testable theory that would adequately explain why I (at least!) experience what we call consciousness and free-will and set them both well within the modern culture of science -- quantum physics -- then I'm quite happy with the belief that the universe might be designed beforehand or is being designed now by one method or another. So far, quantum physics tells us that the electrons in my brain that are producing personal experiences of consciousness and free-will are also having simultaneous effects on electrons somewhere elsewhere in the universe, even at its furthest ends -- if ends there be. Might it also be the case that electrons elsewhere in the universe are affecting those in my head? Where's my consciousness? Keith Keith Hudson, Saltford, England http://allisstatus.wordpress.com <http://allisstatus.wordpress.com/>
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