Monday, March 11, 2013

An Atheist Challenges Materialism

Ann Arbor

I've read some of atheist Thomas Nagel's books in the past, but have yet to read his new book Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False. The title says it all: atheism is true, but materialism is false. Which means that consciousness and mind are irreducible to the physical brain. Yikes! This is atheistic heresy, coming from a confirmed atheist. And Nagel is getting attacked for it.

I've long felt that atheism entails materialism; viz., the view that physical facts explain all facts. Which then led to the humorous atheistic boast of "freethinking" on materialism. Huh? Nagel, realizing the incoherence of such a position declines embracing it and posits non-physical realities. On this see Leon Wieseltier's little essay  A Darwinist Mob Goes After a Serious Philosopher."  
It is not at all obvious how consciousness could have originated out of matter. Surely "freethinking" is only possible if this is true.