BillyJoe said:
Meadmaker ,
Materialism is saying nothing more than the available evidence. Dualism goes beyond the evidence.
This is incorrect. Materialism also goes beyond the available evidence.
Let's make an analogy. Is there life on other planets?
The available evidence consists of ... nothing.
We can look at what exists on Earth, and we can construct a theory that predicts that there will be life on other planets based on that theory. However, the evidence that would confirm that theory is...nothing.
So, since there is no evidence of life on other planets, if I make the statement, "There is no life on other planets." am I "saying nothing more than the available evidence?" Absolutely not. We do not have enough evidence to say whether or not there is life on other planets. We have a theory which predicts that there should be life on other planets, but that theory has yet to be confirmed based on experimental observations. If I assert that there either is or is not life on other planets, I am going beyond the available evidence.
So it is with dualism. I have no evidence that there is anything beyond the material. However, I also have no evidence that there is nothing beyond the material. If I embrace either position, I have gone beyond the available evidence.
(I probably shouldn't say "no evidence". I should probably say, "No conclusive evidence" or even "no worthwhile evidence".
Intuition is not evidence. Evidence puts your intuition to the test.
The existence of intuition suggests something beyond the material. We have consciousness. (I am assuming that I am not the only conscious being in the universe, an assumption I make without proof.) I not only exist, but I am aware of my existence. How did that happen?
I see two possibilities. One is that only matter exists, and that matter interacts in very complex ways. The particular matter that makes up my brain and my body interact in such a way that they make each other react to things that are happening in parts of the system, and somehow, part of that reaction is the phenomenon of consciousness.
But if that is the case, what is unique about human beings, or brains? Nothing, really. There are plenty of very complex systems in the universe. Is it possible that they, too, are aware? The universe itself is a very complex system, and one part of it reacts to what another part of it is doing. Is it conscious? We can't rule it out. That wouldn't contradict materialism, but I would venture to say that most materialists will reject that possibility. However, if they do, that is going beyond the available evidence.
The second possibility is that matter and consciousness are closely bound, but have independent existences. Buddhist teaching says that consciousness creates matter. Do you have any way of disproving that hypothesis? I can't think of one.
So which is true? What explains consciousness? Experimentally, we can't know. However, we have intuition. That intuition seems more than just automatic functioning. That intuition seems more than just simple stimulus/response behavior. We don't just behave as if we have consciousness, we really do have it. That suggests to me that consciousness may be more than material.
Evidence? Very weak. But it does fit with a theory.
Intuition opens up possibilities, which is important, but scepticism accepts none of these possibilities without evidence.
But neither does it reject possibilities without evidence. Scepticism refuses to reach a conclusion unless the evidence is conclusive. The evidence for materialism or for dualism is inconclusive, so a true skeptic would not embrace either.
