Re: Reduction (fwd)

Joel Cannon (cannon@alpha.centenary.edu)
Mon, 5 Jan 1998 13:53:18 -0600 (CST)

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> Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 09:58:47 -0600
> From: "Eduardo G. Moros" <moros@castor.wustl.edu>
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> To: Garry DeWeese <DeWeese@Colorado.edu>
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> Subject: Re: Reduction
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> Hi Garry, (Caps for emphasis)
>
> I was talking about "LIFE" in general, not about human beings. So, to not
> complicate matters think of any life form except human. My statement was a
> reply to Murphy. He feels that we can treat life as we treat, say, the
> cosmos. He may be right if "origins" are excluded. Pure (only) naturalism
> may be all we need to "describe" the universe and all in it. However, I see a
> problem with naturalism when it comes to the matter of origins: the origin of
I would like to focus Eduardo's question (or possibly redirect
it). THis is a bit wild and off the top of my head--definitely not
well thought out so it may be even more outragious than normal.

He asked if LIFE could be reduced to pure physics.

I would like to ask,

``Does a physical description provide an exhaustive description of
reality?''

If we have described all we can describe of the atoms, physical causal
relations and processes in a person's body and mind, and related all
the persons sensations, thoughts, experiences with other people,
knowledge of God, experience of the holy spirit in terms of atoms
acting in a particular configuration within the person's brai, is that
all there is? Or is that even relevent to who a person is? I tend to
think not.

Novelist Walker Percy said of B.F.Skinner something close to, "He
understood everything about man except what it was to be human." I
suspect an exhaustive physical description of life, particularly human
life, might be subject to the same statement.

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