Mind and Matter
107
sweeping, all-embracing transformation of the European ethos from mystical
contemplation to a rekindled fascination with the material world in all its
manifestations.
This was not merely a shift in the way problems were seen and the kind
of solutions that were put forward, but was a re-commitment to a whole new
order of reality. The universe was no longer viewed as a great stage on which
the divine drama was enacted, but was now seen as a space extended in three
dimensions in which material bodies travel in well-defined orbits governed by
deterministic laws. From the dynamics of moving bodies it was possible to
discover the nature of other forms of energy such as heat, and to understand
how substances interact chemically. As time passed, it became clear that the
scientific method of reasoning and experimentation was uniquely suited to
achieve a deep understanding of all aspects of the material world.
Newton referred to his grand synthesis as the System of the World, and that
was an appropriate title for the aspirations of science in the centuries following
the Seventeenth. From a basic understanding of the dynamics of moving bodies
it was possible to derive, one by one, all the principles of classical physics, so
each new discovery found a natural place within the grand design. Modern
science comprises our knowledge of the material world, and it is generally
accepted in our day that all firm, reliable and correct knowledge is based in
physical reality.
The Mary Chronicles
The contemporary debate on mental phenomena is over the question of
whether or not mental processes—especially consciousness—can be explained
by the laws of physical science. The theory which upholds this position is called
materialism, or sometimes physicalism. The most explicit form of physicalism
is called the “identity theory” and maintains that feelings and thoughts are
nothing but electrochemical events in the brain. The theory cannot explain
what feelings are, nor does it enlighten us on how electric activity in nerve
fibers could be literally the same as an experienced sensation. 1
Nonetheless, the identity theory is probably the working hypothesis of most
research scientists who study the brain, for it is consistent with a large body
of experimental evidence. Every form of mental activity—thinking, seeing,
feeling, dreaming—shows up on MRI scans as activity in particular areas of
the brain. Such probes are replicable, in the sense that the same sensation or
thought always produces the same pattern of activation in the same regions
of the cortex. From a perfectly rational point of view, the case is closed: The
107
sweeping, all-embracing transformation of the European ethos from mystical
contemplation to a rekindled fascination with the material world in all its
manifestations.
This was not merely a shift in the way problems were seen and the kind
of solutions that were put forward, but was a re-commitment to a whole new
order of reality. The universe was no longer viewed as a great stage on which
the divine drama was enacted, but was now seen as a space extended in three
dimensions in which material bodies travel in well-defined orbits governed by
deterministic laws. From the dynamics of moving bodies it was possible to
discover the nature of other forms of energy such as heat, and to understand
how substances interact chemically. As time passed, it became clear that the
scientific method of reasoning and experimentation was uniquely suited to
achieve a deep understanding of all aspects of the material world.
Newton referred to his grand synthesis as the System of the World, and that
was an appropriate title for the aspirations of science in the centuries following
the Seventeenth. From a basic understanding of the dynamics of moving bodies
it was possible to derive, one by one, all the principles of classical physics, so
each new discovery found a natural place within the grand design. Modern
science comprises our knowledge of the material world, and it is generally
accepted in our day that all firm, reliable and correct knowledge is based in
physical reality.
The Mary Chronicles
The contemporary debate on mental phenomena is over the question of
whether or not mental processes—especially consciousness—can be explained
by the laws of physical science. The theory which upholds this position is called
materialism, or sometimes physicalism. The most explicit form of physicalism
is called the “identity theory” and maintains that feelings and thoughts are
nothing but electrochemical events in the brain. The theory cannot explain
what feelings are, nor does it enlighten us on how electric activity in nerve
fibers could be literally the same as an experienced sensation. 1
Nonetheless, the identity theory is probably the working hypothesis of most
research scientists who study the brain, for it is consistent with a large body
of experimental evidence. Every form of mental activity—thinking, seeing,
feeling, dreaming—shows up on MRI scans as activity in particular areas of
the brain. Such probes are replicable, in the sense that the same sensation or
thought always produces the same pattern of activation in the same regions
of the cortex. From a perfectly rational point of view, the case is closed: The