tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post528502103637122087..comments2024-03-28T11:25:20.916-07:00Comments on dangerous idea: What are the targets for the argument from reason? Victor Repperthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10962948073162156902noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10584495.post-53675184188025667112017-08-25T22:06:39.169-07:002017-08-25T22:06:39.169-07:00"However, if reason is a byproduct of a unive..."However, if reason is a byproduct of a universe that is, at bottom, nonmental, then it is an Argument from Reason target."<br /><br />Yes, that's a great way to put it.<br /><br />So let's put the nonmetal at the bottom. What's nonmental? Well, what's mental? As for something to be 'not' something, we need to know what 'thing' we're talking about. <br /><br />So what's mental? Is there any objectively correct definition?<br /><br />It seems to me that mental is what humans do when they conceptualize their surroundings, their physical world. <br /><br />So yes, at bottom, the universe is physical. From it, biological systems evolved more and more complex abstract thought processes, combining more and more concepts.<br /><br />The Argument from Reason does indeed attempt to disprove this theory. But it fails, in my opinion, because of the assumed primacy of consciousness: the mental is the base existence.World of Factshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11066732051794158264noreply@blogger.com