Science Is Not Only Compatible With Spirituality Essay

In this Daniel Dennett’s essay “Where Am I?” Dennett tackles the difference between mind, body, and a person’s identity. In his story, Dennett has his brain removed and preserved in a vat. His body stays alive, and radio transmitters make it so he can still function. Dennett starts to question who and where “he” is. Though Dennett has several strong ideas, he isn’t correct in everything he suggests.

As my car climbed the hill, my heart sunk into my stomach. I parked as far away from my friends as I could and quickly exited the car, not once looking at them. Now it was every man for himself. Emerging into the open air, I suddenly became aware of myself. I could feel my puffy, blood-shot eyes. My palms became slimy. My fingers clinched into a fist and my nails dug into my skin. My sight blurred and my tunnel of vision tried to focus on the front door. Every step seemed more awkward than the last. Eyes pierced me from all sides. I felt naked. My body trembled like a sheep in the midst of wolves.

The fascination with consciousness dates back to the time of Plato and Descartes. Since those times the term “consciousness” has spurned controversy in many scientific fields, including the fields of biology, psychology, and neuroscience. However, with the recent advancements in brain imaging technologies, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), human consciousness has shifted from being a subjective, abstract idea into being a observable scientific phenomenon. As neuroimaging capabilities progress, the public interest in consciousness also grows.

Daniel Bor, a psychological researcher, and author, wrote an article titled “When Do We Become Truly Conscious” published on September 4, 2012 and in this article he discusses the idea of consciousness. Through use of deductive reasoning Bor refers to early opinions viewing consciousness as magic and discusses the science behind demystifying consciousness. Bor also discusses the ethical arguments behind learning for about consciousness. Bor also lists some of the emotional arguments centered on human awareness. Bor’s use of rhetorical strategies is designed to state his opinion in a simple and easily read way.

The concept of personal identity or personhood is a very complex area of philosophy that challenges our most basic understandings of mind and matter. Philosophers have generally settled into either the school of mind, or consciousness, and the school of body. As our ability to study the mind grows, through developments in psychology and neurology, consciousness-based theories have come to dominate the discussion of personal identity and body-based theories appear simplistic and even primitive. Thesis: Catriona Mackenzie, however, compels the field to make a renewed examination of the body by pointing out that the body is the very apparatus by which the self interacts with world, thereby shaping all of the experiences which constitute memory and consciousness.

When dwelling into the explorations about science and religion, one can find it quite amusing. "If science and religion are to continue to coexist it seems opposed to the conditions of modern thought to admit that this result can be brought about by the so-called

A human being is described as being a creature capable of questioning concepts such as “who am I” and “why am I here” in order to give meaning to their existence. (Creech Ph.D., 2015)

In the essay Where am I?, Daniel Dennett’s uses a fictional account of a series of brain and body surgeries to illustrate various philosophical views of personal identity and the nature of consciousness.

Any time someone thinks, their brain has a special, designated voice for their thoughts. This voice, allows an individual to in some degree, have a conversation with their self, without necessarily communicating out loud. This voice in our heads has had numerous names throughout the years, such as a person’s conscious or recently has been called the “self.” Many researchers have wanted to know who and or what the actual voice is that we hear in our conversations. Richard Rass author of “Introduction to Perspectives on the Self: Conversations on Identity and Consciousness”, explains that “self has assumed radically different meanings…” throughout the years (Rass 2). Knowing what “self” is and why it helps enlighten our lives is apart of the journey. Rass stated that the “self” or conscious could play a role in knowing humans “psychological composition” (Rass 2). With new research appearing more than ever before, we are gradually obtaining the ability to

I wonder if I really know what I am writing here, or am I writing as an unconscious entity repeating the things I have learned in an order that makes sense to me. For an idea of what I am writing, is this coming from a creature or state consciousness level? (Gulick, 2014). Right there I have requested an answer from my insides and I do not know whether it came from my conscious or subconscious. Furthermore, does it matter where the question came from in accessing the answer? The idea of consciousness has been around for a long time, but people still question and debate on whether or not one is conscious of their actions (Gulick, 2014). If one knows they are scared that is fine, but do they know why they are afraid? Thus, the levels of consciousness ensue and people try to figure out what they know and do not, why they know it, and/or from where it came.

In immediate self-consciousness the simple ‘I’ is the absolute object which, however, for us or in itself is absolute mediation and has its essential moment lasting independence” (95). Those that relinquish the struggle, however, end up being the slave of external circumstances.

who are you? What can you be? Where are you going? What’s out there? What are the possibilities” “An intuitive entity that listens to you, understand you and knows you. It’s not just an operating system. It’s a consciousness.”

Consciousness allows a person to recognize their existence, and subsequently, to form their essence. The

Science “aims to save the spirit, not by surrender but by the liberation of the human mind” (Wilson, 7). Both religion and science seek to explain the unknown. Instead of surrendering reasoning with the traditional religion, a scientific approach one takes full authority over it. Being an empiricist, Wilson takes favors the scientific approach to the question: “why are things the way they are?” This question can pose two meanings: How did this happen, and what is the purpose. Traditional religion answers this question with stories, many of which are impossible to prove or disprove, making them arguments of ignorance. These explanations entail the adherent surrender reasoning and put faith in the resolution. According to Wilson these are always wrong (Wilson, 49). Science is the most effective way to learn about the natural world. Religion is merely speculation.

Since the dawn of mankind religion has been one of the most significant elements of a society’s social and cultural beliefs and actions. However, this trend has declined due to the general increase in knowledge regarding our the natural sciences. Where we had previously attributed something that we didn’t understand to the working of a higher power, is now replaced by a simple explanation offered by natural sciences. While advocates of Religion may question Natural Sciences by stating that they are based on assumptions, it is important to note the Natural Sciences are based on theories and principles which can be proven using mathematical equations and formulas. Faith however contrasts from the easily visible feasibility of data