rmiller wrote:
>
>
>>>Jesse wrote
>>
>>In reality the molecules in your brain are constantly being recycled--if
>>you believe that the changes that make up memories happen at the synapses,
>>the article at http://www.sci-con.org/articles/20040601.html suggests all
>>the molecules at the synapses are replaced in only 24 hours or so, and
>>also that the entire brain is probably replaced "every other month" or so.
>>So do you think the Eric Cavalcanti of six months ago is dead, and that
>>your memories of having been him are false?
>>
>>Jesse
>
>
>All,
>Jesse, IMHO, has pointed out the elephant in the room. Is Sheldrake right
>about "morphic fields" guiding our path through the world-line?
You don't need "morphic fields" to explain the fact that the structure of
our brain (and therefore our behavior) remains the same even as the
individual molecules get recycled--that's just molecular biology, cells are
always using nutrient molecules to build new copies of the same proteins,
and meanwhile getting rid of waste molecules from old proteins that have
broken down, and the way they do this is well-understood. There's a
philosophical mystery here if you believe that consciousness is tied to the
particular physical material of your brain as opposed to the pattern of your
brain (I'd choose the second option), but I don't think there's any great
biological mystery about it.
Jesse
Received on Fri Jun 24 2005 - 12:39:11 PDT