Minimal meme: 'I’ve a good mind to give up Darwinism for.' | Free will versus Determinism

PUBLISHER:

redshirt

Shaun Johnston:
In modern times we've made two revolutionary discoveries. One is, how changes in physical matter can be accounted for in terms of physical laws that can predict precisely what will happen next. Having given rise to science (how this can be studied) and industry (how it can be applied) this revolution is well under way.

The second revolution is, how emergence of species of living creatures can be accounted for in terms of them evolving from one another. This revolution, despite its promise of how much it could tell us about ourselves, remains stillborn through the mistaken application to it of principles coming out of the first revolution--reductive physicalism.

For this second revolution to advance it should be taken from under the wing of science and studied on its own terms. Tip: one recent product of evolution is creatures with minds. Minds are better studied through methods of the humanities than through those of science. Tell me, does this interest you?

Minimal meme: "I’ve a good mind to give up Darwinism for."

Details: Written by Shaun Johnston Shaun Johnston; Published: January 9, 2013 January 9, 2013; Hits: 25114 25114

I was challenged to say what I mean in a few words. The fewest I could come up with, nine, is the heading above. Here it is a little less condensed:

I’ve a mind good enough to give up Darwinism for.

Here, expanded further:

Because Darwinists can’t account for mind evolving they say it’s merely brain; I value mind too much to accept that.

In other words:

Because quality of conscious experience is my top priority I can’t accept a chemicals-in-a-test–tube origin story like Darwinism.

In more abstract terms:

Being driven by the evidence of my senses to be a dualist I can’t accept a purely physicalist origin story like Darwinism.

Seen from a different viewpoint:

Since what we expect of ourselves is bound to be shaped by the origin story we embrace, I favor origin stories that emphasize the value of conscious experience over alternatives such as Darwinism.

Or:

Our choice of origin story should be driven more by the quality of conscious experience it accommodates than by how well it conforms to current physics.

Here I think lies the basis for controversy over Darwinism;

Darwinists, giving priority to physics, fail to appreciate how much more priority others give to conscious experience, that Darwinism slights.

Here lies a reason for us to endorse two origin stories. Darwinists should call off the bulldogs when rivals appear, allowing for a future reconciliation of competing theories we cannot today imagine.