tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812521051458649538.post4747206983091285280..comments2023-04-22T21:52:33.961-07:00Comments on ETHICS @ Rhodes: Notes on MeaningDoctor Jhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13189506916480012553noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812521051458649538.post-25926414273689199602011-12-06T05:35:54.722-08:002011-12-06T05:35:54.722-08:00With your questions "Is a person a person? Do...With your questions "Is a person a person? Don't people have many and contradictory thoughts, and don't they change over time?" I would argue that these "many and contradictory thoughts" are precisely what make people, people. Animals focus on one thing at a time, and these "thoughts" are typically instinctual. If we were to form them like human thoughts, they would probably sound as simplistic as "Where can I find food?" or "Should I fight or flee that other animal?" But unlike animals, humans are constantly barraged with a multitude of thoughts--we can simultaneously lament failing an exam while wondering whether a friend has texted us back while focusing on driving a car. The fact that these thoughts are often conflicting demonstrates that human beings cannot simply be reduced to one train of thought and the we are constantly redefining our values--which should make them all the more important to us.Grace Mosleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16462966609317058100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812521051458649538.post-1637236536343300362011-12-05T23:02:57.093-08:002011-12-05T23:02:57.093-08:00Wow Ivonne,
You've asked a ton of questions h...Wow Ivonne,<br /><br />You've asked a ton of questions here! The ones concerning the material vs. the immaterial and personal identity, in particular, have concerned philosophers for thousands of years. <br /><br />I suppose I'll address your questions about materialism and meaning. I think that what your questions all get at is the fact that even the simplest seeming topics become quite complicated when we scrutinize them. However, I don't think that it is the case that materialism, or the belief that all of reality is material, precludes the reality of abstract ideas like "relationships" or "meaning." I think the idea that words do have meaning is entirely consistent with the physical ways in which we communicate. The key here is the brain, which, with the help of the rest of the body takes in information from the world (such as sounds, or images of words) and processes it, compares it with memory, and organizes this sensory data into meaningful information. I'm no neuroscientist, but I believe that that is a relatively correct (albeit quite simplistic) illustration of how we process physical information.<br /><br />Now, the debate over whether or not we are more than our individual brains, i.e. whether there is an immaterial mind that exists as something distinct from the purely physical brain, is still quite controversial in modern philosophy, although my interpretation of the scientific evidence leads me to believe firmly that we simply are our brains.<br /><br />So yes, meaning can very much exist even if materialism is true.Colinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01750087877164881180noreply@blogger.com