Beyond Physicalism
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but nobody can explain how) to the phenomenon of consciousness. So the
theory claims. However, there is not a scintilla of evidence to support it.
A scientific account of conscious awareness is something that lies in the
distant future. A lot of new facts remain to be uncovered, as well as new ways
of studying mental phenomena. There is a huge gap between what is known
today and what remains to be known in order to explain what mind is. Scientists
refer to it as the explanatory gap, but few really appreciate how wide the gap is.
What do we really mean when we say we’re seeking an account of mind
to replace the physicalist point of view? Certainly we don’t expect to find an
explanation which is at odds with scientific theory, or even independent of it.
A reasonable attitude to have is that present-day physics is incomplete, and
that continued empirical research, probably based on a fresh paradigm, will
bring to light new aspects of the physical world.
An important point to consider is that the way we represent the world—the
picture of the world in our heads—is a biological adaptation, designed to give
us a depiction of reality made to serve our activities and goals. Moreover, we
project this custom-built perception onto the outside world, and assume that
what we perceive is ultimate reality. This habit may blind us to important
aspects of the world which are right in front of us, but go unnoticed. Further
progress will depend on an open-minded approach, unfettered by dogmatic
commitments to a rigid and outdated idea of physicalism, and also unencumbered by Quixotic speculations.
Materialism and Objectivity
Science is based on a notion of objectivity which is intimately tied to materialism. The idea of objectivity concerns the kind of claims that science is
entitled to make, and how those claims correspond to actual facts of the world.
Objective statements are required to be radically divorced from all personal
and subjective judgments, interpretations and perceptions. When a scientist observes phenomena, it should be as if no person is watching. Instead,
measurements are made with instruments, and the results of measurements
are recorded on a material support such as paper. In fact, the measurements
could very well be carried out by a machine with no human intervention: The
results of measurements are given, say, by a pointer on a gauge, and may be
printed automatically. All personal judgment is suspended. It should appear
as if this process is taking place in a zombie universe. 7
The “zombie universe” of objective science is exactly the mind-independent
universe discussed in Chapter 2: It is the residue after all sensable qualities of
117
but nobody can explain how) to the phenomenon of consciousness. So the
theory claims. However, there is not a scintilla of evidence to support it.
A scientific account of conscious awareness is something that lies in the
distant future. A lot of new facts remain to be uncovered, as well as new ways
of studying mental phenomena. There is a huge gap between what is known
today and what remains to be known in order to explain what mind is. Scientists
refer to it as the explanatory gap, but few really appreciate how wide the gap is.
What do we really mean when we say we’re seeking an account of mind
to replace the physicalist point of view? Certainly we don’t expect to find an
explanation which is at odds with scientific theory, or even independent of it.
A reasonable attitude to have is that present-day physics is incomplete, and
that continued empirical research, probably based on a fresh paradigm, will
bring to light new aspects of the physical world.
An important point to consider is that the way we represent the world—the
picture of the world in our heads—is a biological adaptation, designed to give
us a depiction of reality made to serve our activities and goals. Moreover, we
project this custom-built perception onto the outside world, and assume that
what we perceive is ultimate reality. This habit may blind us to important
aspects of the world which are right in front of us, but go unnoticed. Further
progress will depend on an open-minded approach, unfettered by dogmatic
commitments to a rigid and outdated idea of physicalism, and also unencumbered by Quixotic speculations.
Materialism and Objectivity
Science is based on a notion of objectivity which is intimately tied to materialism. The idea of objectivity concerns the kind of claims that science is
entitled to make, and how those claims correspond to actual facts of the world.
Objective statements are required to be radically divorced from all personal
and subjective judgments, interpretations and perceptions. When a scientist observes phenomena, it should be as if no person is watching. Instead,
measurements are made with instruments, and the results of measurements
are recorded on a material support such as paper. In fact, the measurements
could very well be carried out by a machine with no human intervention: The
results of measurements are given, say, by a pointer on a gauge, and may be
printed automatically. All personal judgment is suspended. It should appear
as if this process is taking place in a zombie universe. 7
The “zombie universe” of objective science is exactly the mind-independent
universe discussed in Chapter 2: It is the residue after all sensable qualities of