Posted by Noctillucent on July 02, 19101 at 23:38:55:
In Reply to: Re: Brain = mind, sort of. posted by John Tchoe on July 02, 19101 at 11:51:35:
I form the idea of an apple. The appearance of that idea is red and round. The idea is NOT a physical apple. If it was, and the idea was inside my brain, I would instantly die.
Now, my cortex IS that idea of an apple or it IS NOT (law of excluded middle).
If it is, then my cortex IS in fact an idea, which at the moment appears red and round. And like all ideas, my cortex is a first person fact.
No materialist believes this. And I don’t think you do either.
Consequently, my cortex is NOT an idea, but a physical object. This makes it essentially unlike my idea of an apple, or indeed any idea at all.
If two things are unlike, they are different. Hence the relationship between cortex and idea is NOT one of logical identity (A is A).
They are simply not the same.
Their relationship, then, if in fact they have any relationship at all, is one either of causality (the cortex CAUSES the mind), or, one of mutual interaction. Unless you want to say the mind CAUSES the cortex, no other logical option exists.
All of these have big problems. However, if you are going to continue to say that the mind IS the cortex, but concede they are somehow different, then your argument is guilty of equivocation, and is logically invalid.
Words mean things. In logical argument they must mean things consistently. If you do not use words in a clear and consistent way, then there is simply no point in debate.
>>I specified that of the three definitions you gave me, #1 came closest, though it wasn't quite there. What more do you want me to do?
If you can state it in a way that doesn't use words that imply a confused and opposite meaning, please do so.
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