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Single Idea 2405

[filed under theme 17. Mind and Body / D. Property Dualism / 4. Emergentism ]

Full Idea

It remains plausible that consciousness arises from a physical basis, even though it is not entailed by that basis.

Clarification

Which would make consciousness 'emergent'

Gist of Idea

Perhaps consciousness is physically based, but not logically required by that base

Source

David J.Chalmers (The Conscious Mind [1996], 2.4.1)

Book Ref

Chalmers,David J.: 'The Conscious Mind' [OUP 1997], p.125


A Reaction

Personally I find this totally implausible. Since every other property or process in the known universe seems to be entailed by its physical basis, I don't expect the mind to be an exception.


The 9 ideas with the same theme [mind as a product of complex matter]:

The incorporeal is not in the nature of body, and so could not emerge from it [Sext.Empiricus]
There is non-event causation between mind and brain, as between a table and its solidity [Searle]
Emergentism says there is no explanation for a supervenient property [Kim]
The only mental property that might be emergent is that of qualia [Kim]
Non-reductive physicalism seeks an explanation of supervenience, but emergentists accept it as basic [Crane]
Perhaps consciousness is physically based, but not logically required by that base [Chalmers]
Human organisms can exercise downward causation [Merricks]
Science is opposed to downward causation [Ladyman/Ross]
Strong emergence seems to imply top-down causation, originating in consciousness [Mumford/Anjum]