Posted on 07/13/2004 8:03:44 PM PDT by Cedar
I. PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS OF THE HUMAN MIND...
"...The conscious brain wherein reside reason, judgment, and memory...plus all other parts of brain, occupy the space of a quart container and weigh a total of about three pounds. Though the three pounds represent a mere 2 percent of the body weight.., the quartful of brain is so metabolically active that it uses 20 percent of the oxygen we take in through our lungs...Of the total of about 50,000 to 100,000 genes in Homo sapiens, some 30,000 code for one or another aspect of the brain.''5
"...The brain is different and immeasurably more complicated than anything else in the known universe." 6
The physical brain is comprised of over 100 billion cells, each with over 50,000 neuron connections to other brain cells.7 This structure receives over 100 million separate signals from the total human body every second, and if we learned something new each of these seconds, it would take 3 million years to exhaust the capacity of the brain. 8
II. CAPABILITIES OF THE HUMAN MIND...
The brain allows the finger to feel vibrations of 8/1000 of an inch... Allows the eye to see 10 million different colors...9 Directs:
(1) Central Nervous System
(2) Peripheral Nervous System
(3) Autonomic Nervous System
The brain supports its own optimal blood flow with the designed mechanism called the "Circle of Willis" at its base. 10
Phenomenal brain function is illustrated in the idiot savant syndrome (damage to the left hemisphere during fetal development results in greater development in the right hemisphere). With these individuals who are mentally retarded, incredible mental feats have been observed:
Jedediah Buxton lived in the 1700's and, as an adult, had a mental age of 10. When asked haw many 1/8ths of an inch existed in an area 23,145,789 yards by 5,642,732 yards by 54,965 yards, he gave the correct 28-digit number, then volunteered to give it backward.
"K" as an adult has a mental age of 11 and a working vecabulary of 58 words. Yet, he can give you the name and population of every US city over 5,000 in population, every county seat in the nation, distances of every town from Chicago to New York, and a list of over 2,000 hotels (with names, locations, and number of rooms).
Leslie Lemke is blind and mentally retarded. Yet, he can play any musical rendition after one hearing, and can play it flawlessly the rest of his life. This includes classical works especially. He once played every note of a 45-minute orchestral rendition after a single exposure.
III. THE MIND'S INFLUENCE ON THE REST OF THE HUMAN BODY...
"We do know that thoughts determine moods, and moods reflect changes in both hormonal activity and immune function."11 "The body heals itself." 12 "The brain controls the immune system the same way it controls behavioral activities.''13 "Scientists discover the links between the brain and your health." 14
IV. THE MIND'S RESPONSE TO THE CREATOR...
"The uniquely human 'consciousness' - variously defined as language, introspection, self-awareness, and abstract thinking eludes scientific measurement.[emphasis added]." 15 "People can actually reason, anticipate consequences and devise plans - all without knowing they are doing so.'' 16 We respond because we want to respond!
1 Psalm 139:14
2 Job 38:36
3 Hebrews 8:10
4 Sherwm B. Nuland, The Wisdom of the Body (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997) p. 327
5 Ibid., p. 328
6 Richard M. Restak, The Brain: The Last Frontier, 1979, p. 390
7 The Brain, Our Universe Within, PBS Video
8 Wonders of God's Creation, Moody Video Series
9 Paul A. Bartz, Letting God Create Your Day (Minneapolis: Bible Science Association, 1993), Vol. 4, p. 197
10 M.E. Clark, "Safety Mechanism for the Cerebral Circulation," Paley Watches in the Blood Stream
11 David S. Sobel, MD and Robert Ornstein, PhD, The Healthy Mind Healthy Body, (New York: Time Life Medical, 1996), p. 41
12 Sherry Baker, "Internal Medicine," Omni, January 1991, p. 77
13 Rob Wechsler, "A New Prescription: Mind Over Malady," Discover, Feb., 1987, p. 50
14 Newsweek, November 1988, p. 88
15 Joel L. Swerdlow, "Miracles of the Brain," National Geographic, June 1995, p. 133
16 Joseph Weiss, "Unconscious Mental Functioning," Scientific American, Mar. 1990, p.103
(Excerpt) Read more at creationevidence.org ...
Do you really believe that?
Do I really believe that reality exists separate from our desires? Why, yes, don't you?
Judging from the description, I'd say the author was tripping on some bad acid while reading Henri Bergson.
This was around the time of Magic Realism and Don Costanza or whatever the peyote pirate's name was. Some folks are still there.
Did you mean Carlos Castenada?
Yes, thanks.
You're welcome :-)
That's a nice belief but it can't be proved.
The "soul," some essence separate from both the mind and body, is a term which is so nebulously defined, that its scientific worth is utterly nil.
What does the existence or non-existence of a "soul" have to do with whether the mind survives death of the body? <p.Besides, according to Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary 'soul is associated with emotions' it is 'the vital force of life' (to paraphrase) and 'soul and body may be separated but soul and spirit can only be distinguished.' Sounds like 'mind' to me so if you have your own definition of 'soul' I'd like to hear it or I can't really comment. I have none.
One ends up with mostly incomplete mosaic of knowledge that supports the belief system, with small pools of incontrovertible fact that one uncomfortably tries to ignore.
As for scientific realism, how often has science changed its realism over the centuries? Shifting sand. Bad place to build a foundation, in my opinion.
Was this an original article or did you put it together yourself? Either way... thanks for posting it.
('Cin, HF: Ping.)
No. I prefer to know reality by experience rather than hold to beliefs.
E credo l'uom gioco d'iniqua sorte
dal germe della culla
al verme dell'avel.
Vien dopo tanta irrision la Morte.
E poi? E poi? La Morte è' il Nulla.
È vecchia fola il Ciel.
Got Green Card?
It is not only provable and verifiable, but is the basis of neuroscience.
according to Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary 'soul is associated with emotions' it is 'the vital force of life' (to paraphrase) and 'soul and body may be separated but soul and spirit can only be distinguished.'
The concept of a soul is to psychology what phlogiston is to chemistry: a pre-scientific explanation of phenomena by imbuing them with an innate essence, that has not held up as we have investigated the facts further. Vitalism has been dead in biology for nearly a century now.
I have none.
Precisely! We are incapable of providing either a constitutional or operational definition of the soul, because we have no way have finding or identifying it, making it the search for it a moot question.
If that is true, why is mental capicity demonstrably linked to biological tissue damage? Why is even moral behavior linked to the same tissue? I remember reading about a fellow who had a railroad spike driven through his skull, who afterwards could not stop himself from cussing or grabbing women inappropriately.
Nonsense! The only thing neuroscience can prove is that the brain functions and its functioning effects the mind. Bodily health effects the mind. Perception, which is infinitely manipulable, effects the mind. What science has verified but won't own up to is that the mind is capable of effecting brain function.
The concept of a soul is to psychology what phlogiston is to chemistry: a pre-scientific explanation of phenomena ...
What phenomena is 'soul' an explanation of?
We are incapable of providing either a constitutional or operational definition of the soul, because we have no way have finding or identifying it, making it the search for it a moot question.
I guess that depends on what your definition of 'soul' is. Any decent exegesis of the Bible will give you several. "The immaterial part of man. - VCED " for one. Like I said it sounds like 'mind' to me. I have no opinion or comment on it. You brought up 'soul', not me.
From Boito's libreto for Verdi's Otello. Iago is speaking early in Act II and is outlining his philosophy. He says:
"And I believe that man is the plaything of
unjust fate
From the germ of the cradle
To the worrn of the grave.
After so much derision comes Death.
And then? Death is Nothingness
And heaven an old wives' tale.
"
kinda on topic
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