[Wittrs] Dennett vs Substance Dualism
- From: Joseph Polanik <jpolanik@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: wittrsamr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 29 Nov 2009 13:15:15 -0500
SWM wrote:
>Joseph Polanik wrote:
>>one might theorize that experiencable phenomena can not be explained
>>on the basis of measurable phenomena alone. [this sounds (to me) like
>>substance dualism (the only kind of dualism Dennett explicitly
>>rejects).]
>Fair enough. While I think that that is the only kind of dualism worthy
>of the name (what some call "property dualism", it seems to me, isn't
>dualism at all unless it reduces to what you prefer to call "substance
>dualism") I agree that Dennett rejects it and that when he speaks
>generally of "dualism" that is what he is addressing.
>I want to re-emphasize the point, though, that he doesn't reject it
>because of some argument he puts forward against it but, rather,
>because he sees no reason to presume it. I do think his position is a
>little more insistent on dualism than mine is, though, since I grant
>that it could be true and I don't think he does that explicitly.
>However, I suspect that, if pushed to the wall he would.
I sort of agree that he doesn't reject substance dualism because of his
arguments against it. he's a true believer in materialism. he rejects
substance dualism a priori and puts forth the best case he can that the
rest of us should also reject dualism and embrace materialism.
"This fundamentally antiscientific stance of dualism is, to my mind, its
most disqualifying feature, and is the reason why in this book I adopt
the apparently dogmatic rule that dualism is to be avoided at all costs.
It is not that I think that I can give a knock-down proof that dualism,
in all its forms, is false or incoherent, but that, given the way
dualism wallows in mystery, accepting dualism is giving up."
[_Consciousness Explained_ p. 37]
Joe
--
Nothing Unreal is Self-Aware
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