Brains and bodies suffice for consciousness

To this we need to add another compelling fact: if you have a sufficiently complex brain and body, you will be conscious. Combined with the first fact, most people would conclude that brains and bodies are both necessary and sufficient for human consciousness: you can’t think or feel without them; and with them, as long as they’re working properly, you can’t but think and feel. Having committed himself to belief in souls, however, Swinburne can’t accept this position. On his view, the non-material part of us is as essential as the material.

Saved 23 April 2015

#consciousness #brain #body #dualism