Philosopher Sharon Hewitt Rawlette, Ph.D, has written a very
lucid article on the relationship between consciousness and the physical world
we observe. I touched on these things in
The God Paradigm, but Rawlette does a far better job of explaining it,
and of making it clear. According to the
philosophy (physicalism) dominating physical science these days, things in the
physical world are defined by, and only by, other things in the physical
world. Physicalism avers that there is
nothing else, only the physical. That is
circular reasoning. Rawlette points out
how to avoid that logical flaw in physics.
Her article is at
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mysteries-consciousness/201907/what-if-consciousness-comes-first Here are some excerpts:
= = = = =
It’s as though someone created a very elaborate spreadsheet
and carefully defined how the values in every cell would be related to the
values in all of the other cells. However, if no one enters a definite value
for at least one of these cells, then none of the cells will have values.
In the same way, if the universe is to actually exist, its
properties can’t be exclusively relational/dispositional. Something in the
universe has to have some kind of quality in and of itself to give all the
other relational/dispositional properties any meaning. Something has to get the
ball rolling.
That something (at least in our universe) is consciousness.
= = = = =
We have been trying to reduce consciousness to physical
properties when it is consciousness that is the more comprehensive category . .
. .
= = = = =
Recognizing the ontological primacy of consciousness could
finally open the door to the kind of research that promises answers to some of
our most pressing questions: not just scientific ones, but ethical and
existential ones as well.
[End excerpts]
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