[But go ahead, tell us what sort of beliefs can't be "proven" by science.]
Physics. Forces. Strong nuclear. Weak nuclear. Gravity. Magnetic.
There is force which I call “soul” that can be proven to exist by scientific method. Take a rock and drop it. Physics can predict quite accurately exactly what will happen to the rock.
The rock will obey gravity, land on the floor and remain there until—————
Until what?
Until I walk over and pick it up. I can lift the rock using my own free will/volition.
Physics cannot predict when or EVEN IF I will pick up the rock.
Physics has no name for the unpredictable and VERY REAL force acting upon the matter of my shoulder, my arm, my hand, the rock in the EXACT OPPOSITE DIRECTION of gravity.
It is not hormones – hormones are matter.
It is not brain – brain cells are matter. Matter has no free will.
So what exactly is the name of the force (which acts in a way science cannot predict) that lifts the rock doing the opposite of what gravity intended?
43 comments
Muscle contraction guided by measurable impulses from the brain which can be duplicated. Several years ago I read about a man in Italy who was grafted with a functional bionic arm that could even receive signals while detached.
Medical science is some cool shit.
Physics cannot predict if you will pick up the rock because this has nothing to do with Physics
As for lifting the rock against gravity, it's because the rock is "light" enough for you to lift it
You're not lifting gravity when you lift a rock, but the weight of the rock (relative to gravity, the equation is W (weight) = M (mass) X G (That's gravity in the equation, exprimed in Newtons, 9.80665 m/s2 on Earth)). Dare you tell me it's anormal to lift in the air when it weights around 50 grams or so
Dude, your volition is not some crazy thing that defies physics. Your volition has nothing to do with physics, which concerns itself with measurable, PHYSICAL forces.
However, I'm sure there are plenty of psychiatrists who might be interested in why you keep throwing that rock. ;)
"Physics cannot predict when or EVEN IF I will pick up the rock."
Not yet. In the future, who knows? Determinism and quantum mechanics and... stuff...
The brain's mechanisms are still governed by the laws of physics. It's just that those mechanisms are extremely complex. But, in any case, this has absolutely nothing to do with gravity. You picking the rock up is a totally separate event to the rock falling to the floor. You can't say that gravity can't be proven by physics just because you've added an odd hypothetical future event to an observation of it. If I eat a cheese sandwich after an occurrence of nuclear fission, I have not thrown a spanner in the works into physicists' understanding of nuclear fission. You need to read a book on physics. And also one on philosophy.
This is called dualism. A good argument against it is to remove or damage the brain of a subject and see how it effects his free will, and his ability to pick things up. After all, they're just brain cells, and brain cells are just matter, so it shouldn't effect his will or his decision-making.
Two out of three bald girls in the swimming pool say you'll do it.
Since the rock has no free will, your use of the word, "obey" is in error and contradicts your statement, "matter has no free will."
Your argument is word salad with ignorant dressing. Thanks for playing, better luck next time.
"So what exactly is the name of the force (which acts in a way science cannot predict) that lifts the rock doing the opposite of what gravity intended?"
No 'force', just a complex interplay of biochemistry and biophysics.
Next question...
@UHM
And after Fluttershy has used her Massage-Fu on that polar bear to relieve it of the cunt-brained fundie-induced psychological stress*, please let Twilight Sparkle join you in that sentiment:
image
*- PROTIP: 'Stressed' spelled backwards is Desserts . That's Pinkie Pie's department...! :9 X3
So what exactly is the name of the force (which acts in a way science cannot predict) that lifts the rock doing the opposite of what gravity intended?
my own free will/volition
You answered your own question. It still does not count as scientific proof for the existence of souls however.
Wouldn't a soul be hard for science to prove anyway? It being in the realm of the spiritual rather than the physical.
Gravity doesn't intend anything. Gravity is an active force.
Physics deals with the applications of forces, not whether or not we choose to apply them.
So in the case of picking up the rock, physics isn't concerned with why you pick up the rock (that may be psychology), but rather with the mechanics of the action of picking up rocks...
People with damage to specific parts of their brain often undergo changes in intelligence and basic personality that are so radical that they might as well be different people.
Regardless of whether some part of the human consciousness that is capable of outlasting its physical brain actually exists, you are, at this moment, a fully-biological entity that rigidly adheres to the laws of physics, chemistry and biology, and is affected by them in turn. You are no more independent of the universe in which you dwell than a cat, a jellyfish, a stone or the Sun. Physics could give a damn whether or not you pick up the rock--it only concerns itself with whether it is actually possible for you to do so or not.
I was scuba diving the other day and I watched a fish pick up some small stones in its mouth, then spit them out, So does that mean...?
And no, it wasn't a sole.
@Frostythesnowman
"I was scuba diving the other day and I watched a fish pick up some small stones in its mouth, then spit them out, So does that mean...?"
...it was just doing it for the halibut.
image
Thank you, I'm here all week. Try the gefilte fish! X3
(Ah, whither Carbonated Margarine?!)
"And no, it wasn't a sole"
I've never heard of an ar s(eh )ole picking up stones! [/surreal] XP X3
Physics can't determine when or why you pick the rock up, but physics can determine how you pick it up.
Unfortunately, physics can't determine why you're such a blooming idiot.
"Physics cannot predict when or EVEN IF I will pick up the rock."
Because we can't scan your brain, dumbass. Maybe if you agree to get all of your neurons hooked to electrodes, we can show you.
So what exactly is the name of the force (which acts in a way science cannot predict) that lifts the rock doing the opposite of what gravity intended?
Your upper body strength, dumbass.
There are plenty of things that are unpredictable but nevertheless have a rational cause. The next number that will come up on a roulette wheel is unpredictable; but that doesn't mean the ball isn't obeying ordinary gravity, elasticity, energy, torque and momentum. It's just that they're too complex and unmeasurable to work out.
Understanding why and how your arm picks up a rock is, at this stage of the game, like trying to state exactly how and why Windows causes a particular pixel to light up on a computer screen without knowing anything about the code, the monitor, the computer circuits or the actions of the operator. That doesn't mean it lit up by magic.
1. free will is real - consciousness is more than mere matter
2. by defenition, physics cannot predict free will
3. free will can do stuff (eg pick up rocks)
4. therefore, physics cannot predict if I will pick up rocks
5. my brain is matter, and thus predictable
6. therefore, something other than my brain must have ordered me to pick up the rock
7. free will must have done it
Congratulations, you have proved the existence of free will!
You have proven that animals have souls? Theologically brave you!
Oh, and the lotto numbers have souls too?
"So what exactly is the name of the force (which acts in a way science cannot predict) that lifts the rock doing the opposite of what gravity intended?"
Electromagnetic. Because chemical reactions in your muscles make you move.
And gravity does not "intend" anything, dumbass.
Uuurm, actually, if we had enough information, we could predit your actions, etc.
No, our limited understanding of neurological mechanics does not make intention supernatural.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
To post a comment, you'll need to Sign in or Register . Making an account also allows you to claim credit for submitting quotes, and to vote on quotes and comments. You don't even need to give us your email address.