tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post5704914666050581327..comments2024-03-01T07:35:49.740-08:00Comments on Come Reason's Apologetics Notes: Why Evolution Cannot Produce a MindLenny Espositohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04064209669748618955noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-90581718284963672432015-08-16T14:55:39.212-07:002015-08-16T14:55:39.212-07:00All these topics are relevant.All these topics are relevant.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09840892804998346641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-88883677960389445762014-10-04T15:01:48.151-07:002014-10-04T15:01:48.151-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06368226799027705321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-69693333203471076912014-03-20T17:00:21.061-07:002014-03-20T17:00:21.061-07:00Lenny wrote: "Yes, of course animals have sou...Lenny wrote: "Yes, of course animals have souls."<br /><br />Even worms, spiders, lice, etc.Bernie Dehlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03919318328504104290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-25928557934033175582014-03-20T16:45:41.267-07:002014-03-20T16:45:41.267-07:00Yes, of course animals have souls. See http://www....Yes, of course animals have souls. See http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1075.htm#article3Lenny Espositohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04064209669748618955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-32621266899425626282014-03-20T16:15:29.690-07:002014-03-20T16:15:29.690-07:00Lenny- please answer:
"Do you acknowledge tha...Lenny- please answer:<br />"Do you acknowledge that animals also have minds?"Bernie Dehlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03919318328504104290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-88809390474545590442014-03-19T08:41:59.564-07:002014-03-19T08:41:59.564-07:00Thanks for the comment, John. The post offers one...Thanks for the comment, John. The post offers one argument: emergence does not have the explanatory power to explain the existence of the mind. I use just two arguments in my contention,1) that emergence isn't an explanation because mental properties are different than physical properties and 2) since emergence relies on a material origin of the mind, it is self-refuting. <br /><br />It shouldn't be surprising that we touch on the topics you mention since they are all interrelated. Evolution is the most widely accepted form of materialism today. Epiphenominalism is a type pf emergence. Non-physical states have been described in my previous post on the topic. These are all part of the same discussion so there is warrant for invoking them.Lenny Espositohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04064209669748618955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-74756889865049520132014-03-18T21:06:29.655-07:002014-03-18T21:06:29.655-07:00My problem with this post is that you heaped up to...My problem with this post is that you heaped up too many arguments all together, so it's almost like a Gish Gallop. You talk about evolution, emergence, non-physical mental properties, impotence (epiphemonena), and then free will, self-refuting materialism, and the soul.<br /><br />Which of these topics would you like to discuss in detail? It's no good simply to mention all these topics and assume you've made your case.John B. Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00234524731241646514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-50917869608912750102014-03-18T19:37:19.330-07:002014-03-18T19:37:19.330-07:00The author writes as if he doesn't even know t...The author writes as if he doesn't even know that animals have minds. Do you acknowledge that animals also have minds?Bernie Dehlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03919318328504104290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-617854731227400662014-03-18T18:53:40.711-07:002014-03-18T18:53:40.711-07:00Bernie,
I'm not sure if the sophistication of...Bernie,<br /><br />I'm not sure if the sophistication of these arguments escapes you or you merely don't want to deal with them, but a reply like the one above really doesn't cut it. There are real problems with the scenario that mental states emerge from physical ones. I've spent most of the last week outlining them in various blog posts. To waive one's hand and say that "i'm not even at the starting gate" is akin to putting one's fingers in one's ears and yell "I can't hear you!"<br /><br />Notice, I never invoked special creation above. My goal here and in the previous posts is to show the inadequacy of a purely material account for the mind. Evolution is a purely material account for the mind and therefore evolution is inadequate to explain the mind. Brain defects disprove the need for a soul about as much as computer defects disprove a programmer. Try again.Lenny Espositohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04064209669748618955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6805190.post-84581096912046896962014-03-18T17:36:47.836-07:002014-03-18T17:36:47.836-07:00This whole argument is silly, and any attempt to d...This whole argument is silly, and any attempt to debunk evolution with special creation is futile. You are not even at the starting gate of apologetics until you accept and understand evolution, like many other Christians (Francis Collins, etc.). Humans aren't the only animals with minds. All your pets also have minds. Ours are just more advanced because our brain structure is more advanced. However, some animals have more advanced minds than humans, when humans are brain-damaged (such as severe autism). An animal can survive in the wild whereas an human with severe autism can't. Brain defects reinforce the evidence for the mind arising from the brain. This really isn't that difficult of a concept to grasp.Bernie Dehlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03919318328504104290noreply@blogger.com