This blog presents a summary of Chapter 10 from Lee Strobel's book 'The Case for a Creator.
The basic argument in the chapter-
The basic argument of the chapter is that there is a
mind or consciousness existing in human beings which is beyond or different
from the brain. We are created in the image of God and hence our soul is
complex to understand. The chapter deals with evidence of consciousness. Lee
Strobel starts with the controversy over consciousness and concerns related to
brains boundaries. Then he writes about his interview with J.P. Moreland which
deals with various issues and questions regarding consciousness.
2. The major points of the argument that impressed me the most-
Wilder Penfield, the renowned father of modern
neurosurgery through performing surgery on more than a thousand epileptic
patients encountered concrete evidence that the brain and the mind are actually
distinct from each other, although they clearly interact. Penfield ended up
agreeing with the bible’s assertion that human beings are both body and spirit.
A year-long British study provided that evidence that consciousness continues
after a person’s brain has stopped functioning and he or she has been
clinically dead. It was dramatic new evidence that the brain and the mind are
not the same but they are distinct entities. A scientist could know more about
what is happening in my brain than I do but he could not know more about what
is happening in my mind than I do. He can know about the brain by studying it
but he cannot know about the mind without asking the person to reveal it
because conscious states have the feature of being inner and private. The
argument for computers being able to imitate intelligence and that can have artificial intelligence and the fact that they will never ever have
consciousness and the arguments put forth were also impressive.
3. Some questions that came up while reading the chapter -
a) What
is the relation between our feelings or emotions in relation to the debate of
mind and brain? What plays a major role in determining how our emotions are
controlled?
b) If
our consciousness or mind does not die when we are clinically dead and our brain
ceases to exist, then what part plays the function of the brain once a person
is dead? During an after-death experience, what is that part which helps in
doing the function that the brain does when a person is alive? In other words, how
will intelligence function when a person is devoid of his body and left only
with his consciousness?
How does this argument "measure up" as an apologetic?
I
think it is a good argument for the existence of an intelligent designer behind
the design of human beings. The issue of the difference between mind and brain can
draw the attention of a person to think beyond the natural or accidental way of
thinking about human life. This argument can be used as an apologetic argument
at an advanced level. The existence of consciousness which cannot be replicated
in any other machines or computer is a strong argument for human beings being
unique in creation. Various arguments given by J. P. Moreland in support of
dualism like the inner and private mind, the reality of the soul, etc., lay down a
strong foundation to understand the difference. If the existence of a
consciousness which does not die when a person dies can be proved, then the destiny
of this consciousness which does not die when a person dies is an interesting
question. This could draw a person’s attention to a supreme power or a creator
God to who people are accountable. This argument cannot be used as a standalone
tool but can be combined with various other arguments.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Strobel, Lee. The
Case for a Creator. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.
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