[extropy-chat] Be[ing] or Not Be[ing]

Bryan Moss bryan.moss at dsl.pipex.com
Thu Apr 15 02:28:18 UTC 2004


Olga Bourlin wrote:

> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/13/science/13CRIC.html
>
> "In the fullness of time," he continued, "educated people will believe
> there is no soul independent of the body, and hence no life after death."
>
> Hmmm, the ... "educated"?  Don't the "educated" already know this?

Christof Koch's book (mentioned in the article) has a website with the
preface and a couple of chapters available, one of which is a "fictitious
interview" where he concludes with the same issue:

---

J: What about religion? Most people on the planet believe in some sort of
immortal soul that lives on after the body has died. What do you have to say
to them?

C: Science can't really speak to that. What is clear is that every conscious
act or intention has some physical correlate. With the end of life,
consciousness ceases, for without brain, there is no mind. These irrevocable
facts do not exclude some beliefs about the soul, resurrection, and God.

http://www.questforconsciousness.com/

---

Presumably the "some beliefs" in question are those special kind, popular
among the devout these days, that have no causal reality, but can
nonetheless be invoked in political and ethical debate.

BM




More information about the extropy-chat mailing list