Cheerful Charlie
Contributor
Metaphysical naturalism or metaphysical woo-wooism?
If Mike Tyson hit me (or bit off my ear) then I think my abstract concepts would be affected and I would most probably get a lot more abstract concepts.Our brains contain our being and knowing. If Mike Tyson in his prime punched you hard enough you'd lose what we call being and knowing. Would he not be tangibly effecting being and knowing? Abstract concepts would continue unaffected by a punch from Mike Tyson. Just saying.
I presume you regard this as a true statement. Wherein does the truth of this statement reside? Can you touch it? Can you point to its truthness, please?Metaphysics exists in the physiology of our brains
Metaphysics, IMHO, is the extension of physics, our guesses.Where is metaphysics? That is the question.
Silliness is a virus which afflicts more people that Covid-19 ever did.Asking for the location of a non-local thing is kind of silly to be honest. It's not local.
Classic metaphysics.I presume you regard this as a true statement. Wherein does the truth of this statement reside? Can you touch it? Can you point to its truthness, please?Metaphysics exists in the physiology of our brains
where do thoughts exist? Answer, physical states in our brains.
When you see an object and think chair it is the result of physical vision neurons matching an inage stored in your physical brain. t is nowhere else
Metaphysics, IMHO, is the extension of physics, our guesses.Where is metaphysics? That is the question.
Silliness is a virus which afflicts more people that Covid-19 ever did.Asking for the location of a non-local thing is kind of silly to be honest. It's not local.
Substitute the physical brain for mind.
Mind is an abstraction. Metaphysics ends up being like a dog chasing its tail.
Substitute the physical brain for mind.
Mind is an abstraction. Metaphysics ends up being like a dog chasing its tail.
Substitute the physical brain for mind.
Mind is an abstraction. Metaphysics ends up being like a dog chasing its tail.
So down that rabbit hole far enough, and it takes you to solipsismwhere do thoughts exist? Answer, physical states in our brains.When you see an object and think chair it is the result of physical vision neurons matching an inage stored in your physical brain. t is nowhere else
§1. Your words encapsulate the very essence of my argument. By enumerating a series of mental categories & concepts, we are reminded that all things are but derivatives of the mind. And this matter & physicality that we so often speak of, they are but mere extensions of mind itself, existing nowhere else but within the confines of mentation,—mind you, not this or that particulary mind, but mind as such, mind in general. Thus:—‘Brain’—a concept of the mind. ‘Object’—a concept of the mind. ‘Physical’—a concept of the mind. ‘Neuron’—a concept of the mind. ‘Think’—a concept of the mind. ‘Vision’—a concept of the mind. ‘Is’—a concept of the mind. You have just enumerated a series of mental categories & concepts, & posited not a single thing outside of mentation. Thus you have hit upon the crux of the matter. For I don’t see this ‘matter’ & ‘physicality’ of which you speak, except as an offshoot or derivative of mind itself. The brain, objects, physicality, neurons, & the very notion of ‘is,’—all of these are but concepts within the mind. The mind, it seems, is the sole repository of all things, & matter & physicality are but its offspring. I can’t conceive of anything existing outside of the mind, for all that I know & understand is but a creation of the mind. This so-called ‘matter’ & 'physicality' are but mere derivatives of the mind. The very concept of the physical brain is but a construct within the mind. We are left with nothing but a series of mental categories & concepts, with never a glimpse of anything outside of mentation.
§2. Where does your brain exist? Inside of your brain. If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try to conceive of your brain, right now, & I can assure you that all you will be left with is a concept in your mind. You never go beyond this. There is no reason to posit the independent existence of your physical brain as such, for the same reason there is no reason to posit the independent existence of matter in general. There is only mind, both subjective (thoughts, sensations) & objective (objective truth), and particular (your mind) & general (‘mind at large’).
§3. The truth of the proposition ‘1×1=1’ does not have its abode within the confines of the brain. Rather, it is a thought referring to that truth that exists within the brain. For if the truth of the proposition were to reside solely within the brain, then external reality would not conform to it. Yet, the world operates as though that proposition were indeed correct, implying that the truth of the proposition extends beyond the boundaries of the brain. And that truth does not have a physical position. It is not a material thing. You cannot point to it. Yet it is possible to make objective statements about it. Thus it is real, true. And it is more fundamental than physical matter, since it would be valid if nothing exists. If there was no one in existence to think upon it, and no one to make a statement, it would nonetheless be a correct statement, even in such a hyporthetical universe. Its truth is independent of the existence of this material universe.
§4. It seems that nothing in this fair world is not steeped in the quagmire of mental categorisation, & I can find no reason to posit the existence of aught beyond mind. Not the mind of this or that particular individual, but the mind in its very essence. The mind, not the matter, appears to be the fundamental, ubiquitous entity. It would seem that matter is but a mere offshoot of the mind, a form of mind, & not the other way round. I can’t think of a single thing that is not imbued with mental categories. If you break anything down to its constituent elements, you are inavriably left with a series of mental categories, & never any material thing in itself.
Silliness is a virus which afflicts more people that Covid-19 ever did.
Talking about the mind being something that the brain does leads to solipsism. Mind as an epiphenomenon of the brain means that each person's experienced world is a brain-generated hallucination. So, in that view, we are each inside our brains hallucinating our worlds.So down that rabbit hole far enough, and it takes you to solipsism
Very well said, thank you.abaddon said:If the universe were a "mind-at-large", then that's a way OUT of solipsism.