Originally Posted by DBT
Originally Posted by nighthawk
DBT, That may be if man was nothing more than a physical being. Even the ancient Greek philosophers saw a transcendent aspect in man. There is more to us than brain chemistry.(I for one have made the most damnfool, illogical, self destructive decisions even a butterfly would avoid. Nothing restrained me.)
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The Greeks were far ahead of their time, but that does not mean that the things they believed about the world or the nature of self and the soul are true. If you want to propose a transcendent soul as the decision maker, it needs to shown that an apparently an immaterial, non detectable entity is interacting with the brain as the Master of the system.

As it is, any significant condition within the brain, lesions, connectivity failure, chemical imbalances, etc, does in fact effect perception and decision making in very specific ways regardless of the presence of this proposed non material entity, the soul.


On the neurology of morals
Patients with medial prefrontal lesions often display irresponsible behavior, despite being intellectually unimpaired. But similar lesions occurring in early childhood can also prevent the acquisition of factual knowledge about accepted standards of moral behavior.


the ego, a bit of self-awareness does not want to die.

if it does die, it wants to know that it's going to be in a better place.

that's not a bad desire to have, to leave the urth and then move on up.

but, it's not necessarily that way at all? we're here, we're physical humans.

ego is a imagined self that doesn't want to die. that would be the end. is that true?