--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Yifu" <yifuxero@...> wrote: > > Sam Harris on the Mystery of Consciousness I and II from > http://www.samharris.org > > Harris distinguishes between "underlying consciousness" and the things > entities are conscious of, but seems to skirt around making definitive > conclusions as to what consciousness "is" - relative consciousness of course. > Harris briefly ventured into the realm of mystical Consciousness in a > previous book, but has backtracked from that venture, leaving anything out > related to "Pure Consciousness", mysticism, Buddhism, etc. > ... > Note that in part I Harris states that there's no evidence for consciousness > in the physical world (and by implication, any known world since Harris is a > materialist neurophysicist). He completely avoids the question of an > afterlife. > > "The problem, however, is that no evidence for consciousness exists in the > physical world.[6] Physical events are simply mute as to whether it is "like > something" to be what they are. The only thing in this universe that attests > to the existence of consciousness is consciousness itself; the only clue to > subjectivity, as such, is subjectivity. Absolutely nothing about a brain, > when surveyed as a physical system, suggests that it is a locus of > experience. Were we not already brimming with consciousness ourselves, we > would find no evidence of it in the physical universenor would we have any > notion of the many experiential states that it gives rise to. The painfulness > of pain, for instance, puts in an appearance only in consciousness. And no > description of C-fibers or pain-avoiding behavior will bring the subjective > reality into view." >
"Harris wishes to incorporate spirituality in the domain of human reason. He draws inspiration from the practices of Eastern religion, in particular that of meditation, as described principally by Hindu and Buddhist practitioners. By paying close attention to moment-to-moment conscious experience, Harris suggests, it is possible to make our sense of "self" vanish and thereby uncover a new state of personal well-being. Moreover, Harris argues that such states of mind should be subjected to formal scientific investigation, without incorporating the myth and superstition that often accompanies meditation in the religious context. "There is clearly no greater obstacle to a truly empirical approach to spiritual experience than our current beliefs about God," he writes.[14]p. 214. Despite his anti-religious sentiments, Sam Harris also claims that there is "nothing irrational about seeking the states of mind that lie at the core of many religions. Compassion, awe, devotion and feelings of oneness are surely among the most valuable experiences a person can have."[10]"
