1. Science of the Soul? 'I Think, Therefore I Am' Is Losing Force

Comment #52756 by MentalLentil on June 28, 2007 at 2:28 am

PaulEmecz wrote

So, we have a quality, consciousness, an awareness of our own experiences, which is found in humans. Humans evolved from animals that were not conscious. Therefore there's no essential difference between humans and non-human animals.

As long as you don't worry too much about the consciousness bit, it is all explicable by physical correlation.

You are making a big assumption here (that humans are the only "conscious" animals) as the basis for your argument. It would in fact seem most likely that there is a continuum of consciousness from humans down to the lower animals such as insects which probably have none.

The idea that animals were completely blank and that all of a sudden a light was switched on in humans would seem to be heavily inspired by religion and has little scientific merit.