--- rubiolio <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> --- In [email protected], Alex Bunard
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> ...
> >
> > Mind is the faculty that cognizes.
> >
> > Alex
> >
>
> The problem with the mind only school is that it
> doesn't go far
> enough, why leave mind as a landing place?
>
> Saying that there must be a mind for there to be
> cognition is like
> saying there must be a God for there to be a
> universe.
>
> There's obviously cognition, obviously experience,
> but on what basis
> can it be located in a mind, let alone locating the
> mind in a lump
> of gray matter.
I see your point. I agree with you that the theories
about cognition and experience are futile, as they are
invariably based on the unexamined starting premises
which are steeped in dogmatic substantiality.
However, in the everyday world where people talk about
phenomena such as mind, no one holds up a piece of
rock and claims it to be the mind, or to be the
location of the mind (if there is something, it must
be located somewhere). Most people locate the mind in
a lump of gray matter, since any damage to the gray
matter directly influences the functioning of the
mind. It's a very direct causal relation, which is
what makes us talk about the lump of gray matter as
hosting the mind.
It's the same as with the trees and the forest: there
cannot be forest without a group of trees growing next
to each other. At the same time, it is not possible to
have a group of trees growing next to each other
without the forest emerging.
Now, maybe the concept of a forest is superfluous, and
maybe it's foolish to talk about forest. But, people
use that as a utility, as a short-hand communication
that eases everyday functioning.
Alex
No karma was produced during the composition of this letter
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