That is a very good question! I have a thread on "Physical cannot be the cause of its own change" that you can find here. I, however, think that the same type of argument that is presented here applies to physical events as well. This means that horizontal causation is not possible if the events, whether physical or mental, are related. Therefore, we are left with vertical causation, which requires at least two substances, namely the Mind and matter.Do you think we can take your same argument and use it to show that physical to physical causation is not possible if physical events are related? — Leontiskos
Therefore, we are left with vertical causation, which requires at least two substances, namely the Mind and matter. — MoK
In this thread, I argue that mental to mental causation is not possible if mental events are related* — MoK
I consider all physical particles as the physical substance. Different particles are manifestations of different vibration modes of a single string at the end. — MoK
I have no idea what that means. B either exists or does not. I must say that, within Aristotle's notion of causality, a thing that exists has potentiality. B does not exist before it is caused, so it cannot have any potentiality if it does not exist.Wouldn't B exist potentially before it is actual? — Count Timothy von Icarus
Then where does the information about B reside?So A doesn't need to contain B, it just must contain what brings B from potentially into actuality. — Count Timothy von Icarus
What does virtually mean here?We might say that A contains B virtually. — Count Timothy von Icarus
I didn't make up anything. String theory is not my theory. I don't know what is wrong with considering all sorts of physical particles as physical substance. All I am saying is that horizontal causation is not possible, so you cannot have a change in physical substance at all if you the horizontal causation is the only option available.That seems like just a made up view to justify your current line of thought. — flannel jesus
I am saying that you at least need two different sorts of substances, one physical and another, which is the Mind.You think you need multiple substances to interact. — flannel jesus
This is off-topic, but I argue it: The vertical causation is the only available option once the horizontal one is ruled out. In this thread, I argue that horizontal causation is not possible when it comes to mental events. I think that the same type of argument applies to physical substance as well. I have another thread on "Physical cannot be cause of its own change" as well. So?Obviously that doesn't mean there aren't any non physical substances at play, it just means you haven't proven it with your logic here. — flannel jesus
No. See below.Not necessarily. — RussellA
A mental event is the subjective experience we are all familiar with. If the content of a mental event is different, then we have a different experience, so the content of a mental event determines which kind of experience one has.Unless each mental event "is" its content. The content "is" the form. — RussellA
That is not accurate. According to string theory, each particle is a string that has an extension over space. The different modes of vibration of the string determine which kind of particle we are dealing with.The Universe is built on fundamental particles which have no parts, yet things still happen. — RussellA
A mental event is the subjective experience we are all familiar with. If the content of a mental event is different, then we have a different experience, so the content of a mental event determines which kind of experience one has. — MoK
If the form of a mental event is different, then we have a different experience, so the form of a mental event determines which kind of experience one has.
That is a very good question, and it requires a separate thread, but I briefly explain how we create thoughts. There are at least two minds involved in the creation of thoughts, namely, the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. These minds are connected in a complex way by the third substance, the so-called brain. The mind differs from the conscious mind or the subconscious mind. The mind is an irreducible substance with the ability to experience, freely decide, and create. The mind is simple, so it can be conscious of one thing at any given time. Therefore, the mind cannot generate thoughts. The conscious and subconscious mind, however, have memory, which in the case of the conscious mind, is very limited, so-called working memory, and it is huge, basically, most of what you experience in the past, in the case of the subconscious mind. Most of the thoughts that we are aware of are generated by the conscious mind. Learning something is different from creating something. But let's focus on learning first because we cannot possibly create something new if we haven't learn enough material which are necessary. Let's also start from a very simple instance of learning. When I say "cup", you, your conscious mind, can simply understand what we are talking about. You can even understand this with the mind since "cup" represents a single word. However, the mind cannot understand when I say "The cup is on the table" since we are talking about several words here. The conscious mind, however, has limited memory, so it can hold several items in its memory. You need to pay minimal attention when you read the sentence. Each word that you read then is registered in the conscious mind's memory. You understand what the sentence is about shortly after you complete reading the sentence. It is the ability of the conscious mind to generate what the sentence is about since the words are registered in its memory. The subconscious mind becomes important when we are trying to understand a long sentence or a paragraph, a book, etc.. Creating a new thought is, however different task, but it is done through a collaboration between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. The new thought is simply created once there is enough material to generate it. It is similar to the process of learning in a sense, with the difference that in learning, the person (by person I mean both the conscious and subconscious minds) is passive, whereas in creating the thought, the person is active.Where does the thought come from? — Philosophim
Having A contain the potential for B doesn't change A and make A something other than A. A could not have been the "cause" of B if it wasn't capable of bringing B from potency to act. — Count Timothy von Icarus
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