[asa] Dualism and the thing that makes volitional me ³me²

I imagine that this has been hashed and re-hashed before, but I¹m keen to
know: What position do most Christians in science these days take on
mind-body dualism? Are Christians all over the board?
 
If Cartesian, substance dualism fails because Descartes has to try to
explain which place in the brain interacts with the non-physical world, are
property dualism or predicate dualism the only alternatives for dualists?
Do proponents of those believe that the spirit simply emerges from the
functions of the brain (and if so, is there still something that makes
volitional ³me² really ... ³me,² to make decisions beyond the dictates of my
brain¹s genetics/environment)?
 
How do Christian monists reconcile the supernatural elements of their faith
with monism? I can presuppose that there¹s an unknown (to me) monistic
answer to the mind-body problem (of what causes the decisions), but that
would only solve the mind-body problem - - there still needs to be a second
realm for eternity. I can see how we material beings might gain access to a
more permanent world of ideas and forms, in a seeing-through-a-glass-darkly
sort of way, in this life. But is it possible to believe in a mind that
emerges from a functioning human brain as having nothing particularly
supernatural about it until the day that God resurrects us?

Grace & peace,
Fred Heeren

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Received on Wed Apr 22 17:25:07 2009