Episode 67 -- Creationism vs. Psychology Part 2

Post your comments on Episode 67 here.

One thing that occurs to me whenever this question of why we have consciousness and other zombie-like things, such as computers, do not is: how do we know? Maybe something akin to consciousness flicks into existence every time you turn the computer on and flicks out again when you shut it down. Maybe every sort of electrical activity has some sort of awareness and the complexity of it changes with the complexity of the electrical activity. Maybe the other parts of the brain which operate independently of our consciousness actually have some consciousness of their own and think they control the body. Perhaps those sections of the brain observe the intentional parts of the brain in the same way we observe our hearts or lung.

To me, this provides an answer to the question of why life is so unique by asserting that we aren't unique at all, but just points on a continuum. How one would go about gathering evidence of this is another question entirely.

I'm responding to the issue of creating a secular counterpart to the "charismatic preacher" effect on critical thinking. I suggest you use the text of the preamble to the US Constitution. One reader could be a representative of the ACLU, and the other could be a representative of the Tea Party. Sound fair?

I'm so glad to see Reasonable Doubts back with a new episode! I missed them so much! And yay for having Steve Novella on the show! I love SKU so it's like having my two favorite podcasts combined!

I see. The Pope is really protecting society by keeping sexual predators under the watchful eye of his ever-vigilant Bishops. These men are simply too dangerous to release into secular society. Well bra-vo. All this while, I saw the Priestly robes as a sign of piety and virtue (even if I don't support the actual religion). Now I see that they are the Catholic equivalent of the orange jumpsuit worn by prisoners on work detail.