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Originally Posted by Vulcan
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That doesn't demonstrate or even support the idea that an otherwise unknown life force influences the brain at an atomic level, in fact the article says exactly the opposite; that the brains own processes can, through the brain's plasticity, alter itself. All normal chemical and electrical reactions, no undefined life force detected or required.
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Originally Posted by Vulcan
I think you're looking at the brain as the seat of consciousness instead of the heart. In other society's the heart was the important source.
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Societies have thought a great many things about reality that have turned out to be incorrect. Just because people feel that the heart is the seat of consciousness doesn't make it true.
Feelings make a terrible epistemology.
And we know this to be untrue. We can replace the heart of one person with the heart from another and consciousness doesn't change. Heck we can replace the heart completely with something made of plastic and ceramic.
However we know we can alter a person's consciousness drastically by manipulating the brain. Be it through drugs, electromagnetic radiation, or physical intervention (or damage). A person can become completely different, with needs and wants that are radically different, because of alterations to the brain.
Your article even denounces the idea, talking about altering a person's own brain through meditation to improve their lives (by changing their needs and wants). The heart isn't changed.
Unless you are talking about a spiritual heart, in which case we're back to the same as life force; claiming something exists beyond the realm of detectability but interacts with the physical world (which has never been observed).
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Originally Posted by Vulcan
and again I'm not recommending this site but these two quotes get at what I'm saying.
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Animal or even human sacrifice can also be found in some cultures (including Egypt) too. Just because a culture holds a belief does not give the belief any merit or truth value.
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Originally Posted by Vulcan
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Lol, this is just more god of the gaps argument, which is still a fallacy. Just because a flatworm can store memories outside it's brain and people haven't found out the method yet does not mean "therefore life force, or therefore spiritual heart". (And we've already shown the physical heart is not the seat of consciousness because removing it doesn't change consciousness). All this means is that the system is more complex than we yet know.
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Originally Posted by Vulcan
The examples of the flat earth and the dome to keep out the waters of the deep were just fanciful ideas which didn't have any impact on their lives.
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It's not about what impact a belief has on lives, the truthfulness or falseness of a claim about reality doesn't depend on its impact on people, and how suitable an epistemology is at determining that truthfulness doesn't change just because you deem the ideas fanciful. (And the ideas weren't fanciful, they were serious thoughts by people seriously trying to understand their reality).
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Originally Posted by Vulcan
Going inside did and does have an impact.
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Everything has an impact. Focusing entirely externally would have an impact. Focusing on anger all the time would have an impact. That's how our brain works, no requirement for an undetectable influence. It doesn't have to be that way, but that's what's observed.