Self And The Phenomenon Of Life: A Biologist Examines Life From Molecules To Humanity

Self from Within: The Introspective Self 309

“9x6” b2726 Self and the Phenomenon of Life: A Biologist Examines Life from Molecules to Humanity

it will stop somewhere when it runs out of components, raw materials, or
energy source (see Fig. 2.3 in Chapter 2: An Astronaut’s Dilemma).What
a computer lacks, but a blade of grass has, is self. (5) The brain is such a
complex, organized piece of matter that no simplified version may dupli-
cate its function, let alone the generation of mind. I suspect that to come
up with a mind, nothing short of making another brain can do the job.
Lastly, let me bring out the caveat that consciousness is a private
business that cannot be experienced by a second party. Since I am not
a computer, I cannot tell you with certainty whether I (in this instance
a computer) am conscious. Thus I cannot assert that the probability of
consciousness for a computer is absolutely zero. I can only say that it is
very, very low indeed — almost zero or approaching zero.

13.4 Can Mind Stand Alone?

Without matter, mind cannot stand alone. The brain is such a strange
organ that it always projects or refers outward. For example, when it
executes an action, something (e.g., muscle) other than the brain moves.
When it feels, the sensation falls in other parts of the body and not in
the brain. Thus the brain itself is devoid of motion and sensation. The
cognitive function of mind requires an external world to recognize, while
its affective faculty requires a body for emotion to be expressed. Without
input from the sensory nerves a person can never perceive or imagine a
flower. Even the memory of abstract numbers needs concrete matter for
the numbers to anchor to. Mind reflects physical reality, without which
mind has no content. Just as a mirror that reflects nothing ceases to be a
mirror, pure mind without matter ceases to be a “mind.”In short, mind
alone is a non-entity.

13.5 Can Mind be Explained in Physical Terms?

There are three approaches to a physical explanation of the mind:
(1) correlative explanation; (2) causal explanation; (3) ontological expla-
nation. The first two approaches are easy to understand, but the third