Mind or Matter

Robot applies for job in church, but lacks a soul.

I see that you have composed six symphonies, received the Pulitzer prize for poetry, and teach philosophy at Harvard. However, I'm sorry, you don't qualify for a soul!

The assumption that mind and matter are not the same stuff is the root of many beliefs in supernatural phenomena, such as an immortal soul, reincarnation, communication with the dead, mental telepathy, and out-of-body experiences.

Some people claim to have special psychic powers. However, they refuse to be tested by the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) and win their million-dollar prize, because they know they can't pass the simple test and don't want to lose the lucrative income they get from their gullible customers.

Robots with intelligence equal to, or exceeding, human intelligence will demonstrate that consciousness, thought, and memory are totally dependent upon a physical brain and body. Then it will be as absurd to claim that the machine has a soul as it will be to claim that only humans can have souls. William Dembski, proponent of intelligent design, recognized this threat to his religious faith when he wrote:

I fully grant that my theology would crumble with the advent of intelligent machines; yet without such machines on the horizon I feel secure in my "archaic" theology.

-- William A. Dembski, "Conflating Matter and Mind," Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, 43:2 1991

Brain research overwhelmingly supports the theory that every mental event is caused by a corresponding physical event in the brain. Direct stimulation of the brain, chemicals circulating in the brain, and damage to the brain correspond precisely with changes in mental behavior.

When damage is severe enough to cause the death of the brain, the result is a permanent cessation of memory and thought. If personhood cannot survive even in life, as in Alzheimer's disease, then we cannot expect to it to survive in death.

The mistaken belief in life after death encourages suicidal bombers and charlatans who prey upon emotionally vulnerable people by promising contact with dead loved ones. It encourages persons considering suicide to expect a satisfying, fly-on-the-wall view of the shock, sorrow, and anger their deaths will cause. It gives those who look forward to meeting their Creator little incentive to protect the environment or support promising research that could extend life.

I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first. I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.

-- Stephen Hawking

I'm bored to life playing a harp and polishing my halo!