Deterministic World
In Iowa this weekend Brad and I were discussing consciousness and the mind-body problem. Brad brought up a point that I had not thought about, that if the mind and consciousness are really all contained within the normal functioning of the brain, then all of our consciousness and our “selves” are created by the physical and chemical reactions of the brain. Not only does this make the boundary between yourself and the outside hard to determine, but it means we should eventually be able to develop a (complex) model of the reactions in the brain just like any other physics reactions (like 2 pool balls colliding). Assuming we know the starting condition of the brain and the experiences it is going to through then we should be able to determine how the brain will end up and the way it will react to said experiences. Which then provides questions about free will and things if we are able to predict how someone will think and act. The only randomness left would seem to be any effect of random quantum fluctuations.
An interesting example of a case of this is brought up in Consciousness Explained. Two twins, Greta and Freda Chaplin, who were in their 40s when the book was written and living in England. They act as one, finishing each other’s sentences, etc.. Dennett explains:
“Since these twins have seen, heard, touched, smelled, and thought about very much the same events throughout their lives, and started, no doubt, with brains quite similarly disposed to react to these stimuli, it might not take enormous channels of communications to keep them homing in on some sort of loose harmony.”
It seems that if two people start with very similar brains and experience the same things then they will end up with very similar brains. Which means that it should be possible to predict how one’s brain is going to develop based on their experiences. Does this mean once we understand the brain we’ll be able to predict the future? Well we can’t even predict weather patterns or the decisions of small animals or anything like that so I doubt its quite that simple. But an interesting idea.
October 27th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Dear Todd,whilst doing a search for the twins Greta and Freda Chapman I came across your site.I thought therefore that I might add something or at least an impression of them to any discussion about them as I actually worked with them for a brief while during the 80s whilst a Psychiatric Groupworker in Londons East End.I have no idea whether they were or not mentally ill or not as opinion seems to be divided about this.They certainly were two of the strangest people I have ever met without a doubt.It is often said that they spoke in unison and rarely independently.For myself I never heard any independent speech,others experience however may not reflect mine.So far however I have yet to read any account of this speech,so people may assume that they merely spoke in unison in an otherwise normal way.This was not so.Their speech was fast,drone like and uninflected and quite hard to follow due to the manner of its production.It was actually very hard to hear without “tuning out” on them andone had to make a very deliberate effort to focus on the content and not the process.They would also lean right into ones personal space as they seemed unaware of proximity issues.Edward.
October 27th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Sorry Todd,but I experienced some problems with my computer whilst adding some information on the Chapman twins.I have a number of other observations regarding their methods of communication both in words and at the non verbal level.I mentioned their apparent unawareness of personal space.Both would usually stand so close to me that they were practically touching.Most people find this quite uncomfortable and I was not unusual in this regard.In addition both of them are quite short{I am only 5ft 5inches myself} and they would be looking up at me and talking at a strange whining pitch{some might say buzz saw like}.I formed the distinct impression after careful listening that they did not talk precisely in unison but one cued the other{I could never tell which one was which}nor whether it was always the same one who took the lead.I have never seen any other mention of this and it is not in anyway scientifically validated ,but that was my impression.Hope these comments may interest you.Contact me should you have any questions.Edward.
October 28th, 2006 at 7:38 pm
Hi Edward,
Thanks for the interesting info. Did it seem to you as if they were basically the same person? Did they act as individuals or was it more like the two of them formed a single consciousness?
-Todd