tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21308815.post120182031055355671..comments2023-10-08T15:51:17.426+00:00Comments on Beyond Necessity: Consciousness and reincarnationEdward Ockhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07583379503310147119noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21308815.post-34642049742170699232012-06-11T13:53:36.485+00:002012-06-11T13:53:36.485+00:00>>Out of interest, Ed, do you know of any pl...>>Out of interest, Ed, do you know of any plausible argument for a logical impossibility via the PSR?<br /><br />Can't think of one.Edward Ockhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07583379503310147119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21308815.post-81077974178002248112012-06-08T20:45:22.012+00:002012-06-08T20:45:22.012+00:00I'm a bit surprised that one might recruit the...I'm a bit surprised that one might recruit the PSR to prove a logical impossibility. I don't see why my inability to explain an event renders it impossible, let alone logically impossible. Maybe we just don't know enough about events of this type---in this case how reincarnation might work. Surely to show that my reincarnation is a logical impossibility requires showing that the concepts <i>reincarnation</i> and <i>myself</i> are somehow incompatible or contradictory, like <i>married bachelor</i>. (Actually I do think this, so maybe I'm conceptualising myself rather differently from someone who thought the concepts compatible.) Out of interest, Ed, do you know of <i>any</i> plausible argument for a logical impossibility via the PSR?David Brightlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06757969974801621186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21308815.post-21260540978699005342012-06-08T19:17:15.440+00:002012-06-08T19:17:15.440+00:00Do you think it is a reasonable question to ask wh...Do you think it is a reasonable question to ask why Kyawngtet is located in Burma? Why isn't it located in Bangladesh, or India?<br /><br />Is it logically possible for a city to be reincarnated as another city?Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15847046461397802596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21308815.post-6092699480420493812012-06-08T19:04:09.670+00:002012-06-08T19:04:09.670+00:00>> No, I am saying that if reincarnation is ...>> No, I am saying that if reincarnation is logically possible, then it is a reasonable question to ask why one was born into such a body.<br /><br />Logically possible? So, if reincarnation is "logically possible", but "biologically impossible", then "it is a reasonable question to ask why one was born into such a body"?<br /><br />I agree that <i>if you had been reincarnated</i> then it would be reasonable to ask why you were reborn in the body you were reborn in. But if reincarnation is "logically possible"?<br /><br />I guess part of the problem is I don't even understand what this "logically possible" thing is.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15847046461397802596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21308815.post-58126640269596677732012-06-08T17:25:39.602+00:002012-06-08T17:25:39.602+00:00>>So, beg the question?
No, I am saying tha...>>So, beg the question?<br /><br />No, I am saying that <i>if</i> reincarnation is logically possible, then it is a reasonable question to ask why one was born into such a body. I.e. your objection presumes that reincarnation is logically impossible, without giving proof.<br /><br />>>A better way to describe the problem with theories of reincarnation (and dualism in general) is that they multiply entities unnecessarily. Instead of just Edward, a unity of soul and body, we have Edward the body and Edward the soul.<br /><br />Now that's more like an argument. To be continued.Edward Ockhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07583379503310147119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21308815.post-74118386745170652952012-06-08T14:55:55.945+00:002012-06-08T14:55:55.945+00:00>> Anthony objects that where one was born i...>> Anthony objects that where one was born is a matter of biology and circumstance. Well, if it is a necessary or logical truth that the referent of 'I' or 'myself' is identical with my body, then of course.<br /><br />Well, I am not saying that "I" or "myself" is identical with your body. I am saying that your body, as well as your consciousness, is an aspect of you.<br /><br />>> Suppose, for example, that reincarnation is possible.<br /><br />So, beg the question?<br /><br />>> The principle of sufficient reason does not, on its own, establish that reincarnation is logically impossible.<br /><br />Certainly not!<br /><br />Among other problems, "There is some textual evidence that suggests that only contingent truths are in the domain of ‘everything’ so that the PSR should be understood as saying that there is a sufficient reason for every contingent truth." (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sufficient-reason/)<br /><br />A better way to describe the problem with theories of reincarnation (and dualism in general) is that they multiply entities unnecessarily. Instead of just Edward, a unity of soul and body, we have Edward the body and Edward the soul.<br /><br />If there were some empirical evidence for reincarnation that might necessitate this multiplication of entities. But it seems there is not.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15847046461397802596noreply@blogger.com