i want to make a poll

That's why I added the sneaky 'truly described' to my description of the physical.

I don't think we can ever be certain our concepts and principles are the 'true ones' for describing the phenomena we're interested in, although I do believe that simplicity and predictive success in physics at least give us good reason to believe we have gotten it right. That said, I also think we always need to accede that evidence could one day pile up and show us that our theory was wrong.

I'd like to argue that a large part of what we feel is based on past experiences, associations and cognitive interpretation.

Things that can all be explained by neuroscience.

We might not be able to explain perfectly (yet) how we experience and interpret emotions by using science but for me it beats metaphysical theories that are based on subjective experiences and introspection.

I don't really like the Mary thought experience, with that kind of reasoning you could make a case for any possible scenario and I just don't see the sense in that, we've got to work with the data that IS available and not data that might be available at some other time.

  On 3/1/2010 at 8:34 PM, encey said:

That's why I added the sneaky 'truly described' to my description of the physical.

 

I don't think we can ever be certain our concepts and principles are the 'true ones' for describing the phenomena we're interested in, although I do believe that simplicity and predictive success in physics at least give us good reason to believe we have gotten it right. That said, I also think we always need to accede that evidence could one day pile up and show us that our theory was wrong.

Yeah, okay, you could use the word physical that way and it would make sense. You'd basically see what physical things you are committed to under your preferred scientific theory.

But then there would only be any non-physical things if your theory is incomplete.

Anyway, I still think this whole physical/dualist debate exists because people are confused about what the word physical means.

  On 3/1/2010 at 5:14 PM, encey said:

 

 

 

Also, all of your arguments that all our experience and knowledge is 'just brain information' depend on your faith that we will be able to 'decode' our neural activity in order to figure out what it 'mean's or 'represents' -- but we haven't done so yet. So that does not compel me to believe your arguments right now.

We're getting there though: http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/09/26/brain-activity-regulates-emotions/3014.html