Dualism is an interesting belief - that mind and body are separate and that there are material and immaterial realities in that sense.
Dualism cannot be ruled out; however, it's not currently established to be true, either. In this sense, I'm obligated to not hold the belief as true. It's a positive claim and it's yet to meet its burden of proof.
The number one hang-up that dualism seems to have is that the further neuroscience advances its knowledge of the brain, and how it works, the more beliefs seem to be reducible to brain-states. Beliefs used to be one of the best arguments for mind and brain being separate; however, we've since learned that a person's beliefs can be altered by removing or altering certain parts of the brain. Also, neuroscientists in 2014 have printed a photographic image of a memory.
This suggests a contingency - that "beliefs" reduce to brain-states.
I wouldn't suggest that dualism is ruled out, but I don't see good enough reason to hold it as a "belief," no pun intended.
Dualism cannot be ruled out; however, it's not currently established to be true, either. In this sense, I'm obligated to not hold the belief as true. It's a positive claim and it's yet to meet its burden of proof.
The number one hang-up that dualism seems to have is that the further neuroscience advances its knowledge of the brain, and how it works, the more beliefs seem to be reducible to brain-states. Beliefs used to be one of the best arguments for mind and brain being separate; however, we've since learned that a person's beliefs can be altered by removing or altering certain parts of the brain. Also, neuroscientists in 2014 have printed a photographic image of a memory.
This suggests a contingency - that "beliefs" reduce to brain-states.
I wouldn't suggest that dualism is ruled out, but I don't see good enough reason to hold it as a "belief," no pun intended.
Last edited: