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evanstiegel's picture

From reading these posts and

From reading these posts and hearing what many had to say in last week's class, it is clear that our class is polarized in what we believe.  Many of us think that the brain is biological phenomenon rather than spiritual (as Skye said in a previous post) and vice versa.  From what we have learned and should have come to figure out, neither stance is the right one, or truth.  We believe one side or the other because that particular side is more useful for us.  For example, for those that believe there is some unexplained intangible force in our brain that is responsible for emotion and the like, maybe you find comfort in the fact that there is some greater force responsible for your unique emotion.   This is a comfort that stems from the fear of potential loss of agency or free will if the mind's action was solely a function of neurons.  Personally, I find comfort in the other view that the mind is a biological function.  I like this view because it simplifies a great deal for me.  I like the fact that I can indeed attribute the way I feel some time to some biological function rather that some other abstract force at work.  I am not totally disregarding the possibilty of some higher force.   Also, I do not feel discomfort or fear with idea that the mind as a biological machine therefore lacking agency or free will.  For me, I can still experience and savor certain feelings or emotions even though I attribute them to some chemical function.  I will reiterate again that neither side is necessarily true, but we choose to believe in one side or the other because we find either a comfort in that view or a fear of the other view.

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