Thank you for your answer! You say that “That which is perceived can tell us nothing about that which perceives”. Yes but this does not mean that it’s not possible that there is something generated in the brain that can’t be perceived (e.g., the perceiver in chief), does not it? You say The brain cannot conceivably generate serendipitous events and miracles in the physical world. Actually, how do we know this statement is valid? Why not? And besides, we might perceive something as a miracle but how do we actually know it’s really a miracle (like for example what happened to you many years ago and to me back in 2008) and not just a trick of our perception created in/by the brain? I would really appreciate your answer. I really want to get to the bottom of this!!
THANK YOU!!!!!!
Dear Paul,
That a physical object, the brain, creates consciousness is a belief, an assumption, a religion, an act of faith, that can never be proven experientially to be true. There is not the beginning of a shred of evidence for this. We simply believe there is a full body of evidence, but, upon closer scrutiny, it turns out there is none. We may as well believe that unicorns create consciousness. The reason for this absence of evidence is that consciousness is non-phenomenal. Therefore we cannot envision any thought experiment to verify scientifically any hypothesis about consciousness, and, in this case, to verify that it is a by-product of the brain. How could we possibly experientially establish the existence of “something generated in the brain that can’t be perceived”, and, more generally, of something non-perceivable? We have to come to grip with the fact that we have become believers of the “Church of the Brain Generated Consciousness”, itself affiliated with the religion of Ignorance, which has the largest membership on the face of the Earth.
When I said “The brain cannot conceivably generate serendipitous events and miracles in the physical world”, I meant assuming that the brain is a locally isolated physical system. If we consider the brain as a universal or cosmic reality, and if it is the reality of consciousness, it means that the consciousness which is perceiving these words right now is in fact universal.
I didn’t said that the events you or I experienced were miracles. Miracles are events that violate the laws of Physics, serendipitous events are highly improbable occurrences. A miracle would be Jesus walking on water, or the opening of the Red Sea. A serendipitous event would be you taking a trip to India, a country with a population of over 1 billion, and wishing while in the plane to encounter a guru who lives in the Himalayas. Upon getting off your taxi in Bombay, this guru happens to be the first person you encounter.
Love,
Francis
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