Dualism or idealist monism as the best model for survival after death data

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(2024-01-24, 12:34 PM)sbu Wrote: I wish I could share your conviction.

Depends on one's very specific definition of 'the brain is off-line'.

But as Tim says, there are plenty of NDE OBE's recalled by patients who are in cardiac arrest, and who are resuscitated on the hospital operating table. Quite bizarrely in my view, their recollections often appear to include information from the period of their resuscitation, and occasionally include verified information they should not/could not have known about at that time.

In my case, I wasn't even at risk during my single childhood OBE, I just gained access to information about the specifics of a break-in which I could not have known about, and which we verified later that morning.



Hence, I accept peoples verified sporadic access to information anomalously. But, I don't accept any of the naive popularised attempts at explaining these common anomalous experiences.
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring 
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
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(2024-01-24, 02:26 PM)Max_B Wrote: there are plenty of NDE OBE's recalled by patients who are in cardiac arrest, and who are resuscitated on the hospital operating table. Quite bizarrely in my view, their recollections often appear to include information from the period of their resuscitation, and occasionally include verified information they should not/could not have known about at that time

@sbu  Max doesn't share my views on what is going on here, but what he's saying there is absolutely correct.
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(2024-01-24, 02:26 PM)Max_B Wrote: Depends on one's very specific definition of 'the brain is off-line'.

But as Tim says, there are plenty of NDE OBE's recalled by patients who are in cardiac arrest, and who are resuscitated on the hospital operating table. Quite bizarrely in my view, their recollections often appear to include information from the period of their resuscitation, and occasionally include verified information they should not/could not have known about at that time.

.....

Hence, I accept peoples verified sporadic access to information anomalously. But, I don't accept any of the naive popularised attempts at explaining these common anomalous experiences.

It must be comforting to have had such an experience, even though I'm aware that your interpretation of some of these phenomena differs from Tim's (and also the naive popularised explanations).
(This post was last modified: 2024-01-24, 05:05 PM by sbu. Edited 1 time in total.)
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(2024-01-24, 09:00 AM)sbu Wrote: At least they don’t try to pretend that conscious doesn’t depend on what goes on in the nervous system.

So what is an actually good argument for Property Dualism?

That's what I'm waiting on...
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'

- Bertrand Russell


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(2024-01-24, 05:14 PM)Sciborg_S_Patel Wrote: So what is an actually good argument for Property Dualism?

That's what I'm waiting on...

It's fundamentally more compatible to the observed relationsship between the brain and the mind. Think for example different kinds of amnesia, persistent vegitative state, changes to personality after strokes etc etc etc
(2024-01-24, 06:46 PM)sbu Wrote: It's fundamentally more compatible to the observed relationsship between the brain and the mind. Think for example different kinds of amnesia, persistent vegitative state, changes to personality after strokes etc etc etc

But not Sudden Savants nor Terminal Lucidity, to say nothing of Psi & NDEs/CORTs. OTOH just as a valve can tighten or loosen, Filter/Transmitter Theory can explain those two as well as all the things you mention.

Also why are Property Dualists not Panpsychists?

I also think Property Dualists lose against Substance Dualists as the latter engages consciousness as the cohesive whole we experience.
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'

- Bertrand Russell


(This post was last modified: 2024-01-24, 07:08 PM by Sciborg_S_Patel. Edited 1 time in total.)
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(2024-01-24, 06:46 PM)sbu Wrote: It's fundamentally more compatible to the observed relationsship between the brain and the mind.

Terminal lucidity (as Sci mentioned) may be what you need, then? The brains of these patients are unquestionably destroyed, as (Austrian?) researcher Alexander Batthyany has recently reminded us and yet they have a proven period just before they die when they have clear, lucid consciousness; they are back with all their facultiies and memories after being lost for sometimes years. Their brains would resemble (equal to) the damage (in structure) done to a boiled egg by comparison, you can't unboil an egg, but they are presnt once more, thinking straight. This is actually not possible but it happens all the time according to the experts. 

There is no way that neuronal networks can suddenly grow back, just like that, 'hey presto' and even if they could, it surely would be a different person entirely that came back. 

“My grandfather was in palliative care for dementia. He had severe cognitive decline over the months preceding his death. There was no recognition of family or friends, paranoia, hallucinations, confusion, social withdrawal, refusal of food and drink, mumbling incoherent speech, and a lack of ability to toilet or shower himself. He awoke and began talking in a clear voice with obvious recognition of family and surroundings. He was able to inquire about family and friends that he had not been able to recognize previously. He asked that the books he had borrowed months ago be returned to their owner. He said he wished his death would come quicker. After 20 minutes, he became tired, fell asleep, and died shortly afterward.”

Terminal Lucidity Revisited | Psychology Today Australia
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(2024-01-24, 07:41 PM)tim Wrote: Terminal lucidity (as Sci mentioned) may be what you need, then? The brains of these patients are unquestionably destroyed, as (Austrian?) researcher Alexander Batthyany has recently reminded us and yet they have a proven period just before they die when they have clear, lucid consciousness; they are back with all their facultiies and memories after being lost for sometimes years. Their brains would resemble (equal to) the damage (in structure) done to a boiled egg by comparison, you can't unboil an egg, but they are presnt once more, thinking straight. This is actually not possible but it happens all the time according to the experts. 

There is no way that neuronal networks can suddenly grow back, just like that, 'hey presto' and even if they could, it surely would be a different person entirely that came back. 

“My grandfather was in palliative care for dementia. He had severe cognitive decline over the months preceding his death. There was no recognition of family or friends, paranoia, hallucinations, confusion, social withdrawal, refusal of food and drink, mumbling incoherent speech, and a lack of ability to toilet or shower himself. He awoke and began talking in a clear voice with obvious recognition of family and surroundings. He was able to inquire about family and friends that he had not been able to recognize previously. He asked that the books he had borrowed months ago be returned to their owner. He said he wished his death would come quicker. After 20 minutes, he became tired, fell asleep, and died shortly afterward.”

Terminal Lucidity Revisited | Psychology Today Australia

Funny, I read about Alexander Batthyany on Ian Wardell's blog today. I wonder if any of you are Ian?
(This post was last modified: 2024-01-24, 09:00 PM by sbu. Edited 2 times in total.)
(2024-01-24, 08:59 PM)sbu Wrote: Funny, I read about Alexander Batthyany on Ian Wardell's blog today. I wonder if any of you are Ian?

Ian is a known user here, though I don't recall if he wants that username to be connected to his IRL name. [But he isn't any of the regulars in this thread.]
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'

- Bertrand Russell


(This post was last modified: 2024-01-24, 10:20 PM by Sciborg_S_Patel. Edited 1 time in total.)
(2024-01-24, 11:54 AM)tim Wrote: I think he is, yes. I emailed Chalmers many years ago to urge him to look at NDE's with respect to how they might inform, or assist him, if you see what I mean. 
He responded with a short message saying he wasn't familiar with the research (basically) and that was it. 

To this day, I can hardly believe it. NDE's "tell" us to stop (cease) looking in the brain and he won't even look at the sign post. I don't take him seriously anymore. I respect him for admitting the problem (the hard problem) but it seems to me he just wants to stay where he is. A kind of philosophical old pop star still living off his one hit. If that's not the case, what progress has he made.

I like a lot of his work, but it is very unclear to me why he believes that AI - programs running on Turing Machine computers - can become conscious.

I also do think he is selling short the philosophical reasoning that suggests the consciousness I have now is immaterial as a cohesive unit and thus extends beyond bodily death...which to me is all an argument for a soul requires. (An Idealist would note that the body itself is something experienced in one's consciousness, and does not even always have the same properties in dreams...to go back to NDEs & Philosophy of Idealism paper discussed in this thread...)

Of course we cannot let philosophy alone be the arbiter, and I accept there isn't the same level of evidence for Survival as QM, but nevertheless I do think the combination of Philosophy + Survival Evidence is good enough for Survival to be a reasoned, scientifically acceptable conclusion.
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'

- Bertrand Russell


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