This is a good question, that has got me thinking for a long time. First of all, I think that god is not a person more like something that is very difficult to describe. Maybe god is a light in other realms of reality?. It sure does make a person think eh?. The evidence for survival of bodily death doesn't necessarily show that their is a god but it does make it more likely.
Some questions to ponder
1. Does god exist?
2. Is their more than one god?
3. Is any religious concepts of god correct?
I would say yes to the first question and no two the last two questions. That's just my opinion.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
New Skeptiko Podcast
Here's another new skeptiko podcast
Dr. Jon Klimo on Channeling and Consciousness
Guest: Dr. Jon Klimo, discusses his 30 plus years of research into channeling and other unexplained aspects of human consciousness.
You can watch it here
Enjoy
http://www.skeptiko.com/index.php?id=67
Dr. Jon Klimo on Channeling and Consciousness
Guest: Dr. Jon Klimo, discusses his 30 plus years of research into channeling and other unexplained aspects of human consciousness.
You can watch it here
Enjoy
http://www.skeptiko.com/index.php?id=67
Things Are Pretty Bad
My father is getting panic attacks bad ones. He panics about almost everything. he is on new medication that hopefully will help him. I still get the odd panic attack myself, i found that counselling was the best medicine. My brother Tommy is also going through some tough times, such as his two kids he made with a girl named Melissa. Well she's got custody of them but now my brother does get partial custody to see his kids, which is good. One of the kids has autism, my my mother and father told my brother that he should be in a special school.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Dr.Steven Novella's Attack On Dualist's Supporters
Recently Neurologist Steven Novella on his blog Neurologica a two part post titled Reports of the demise of materialism are premature.
Here's some points that I like to address from his posts.
Steven Novella says
The New Scientist has recently discovered what readers of this blog have known for a while - that the denial of materialist neuroscience is the “new creationism.” In fact I have written extensively over the past year about the embrace by the Discovery Institute (an intelligent design group) of cartesian dualism, the notion that the mind is a different substance from the brain. The primary proponent of this argument for the DI (and a frequent foil of my blog entries) is Michael Egnor, a creationist neurosurgeon. But the New Scientist article correctly points out that this is actually part of a larger movement and a larger strategy.
So, anyone who disagrees with the materialist view is labelled a creationist?. Of course Intelligent Design is an alternative to evolution, like cartesian dualism is an alternative to theories that mind is either epiphenomenal or an emergent property of the brain. The question is should science be fully materialistic or dualistic?. For me after studying the evidence, I have come to the conclusion that we live in a dualistic universe.
Here's some points that I like to address from his posts.
Steven Novella says
The New Scientist has recently discovered what readers of this blog have known for a while - that the denial of materialist neuroscience is the “new creationism.” In fact I have written extensively over the past year about the embrace by the Discovery Institute (an intelligent design group) of cartesian dualism, the notion that the mind is a different substance from the brain. The primary proponent of this argument for the DI (and a frequent foil of my blog entries) is Michael Egnor, a creationist neurosurgeon. But the New Scientist article correctly points out that this is actually part of a larger movement and a larger strategy.
So, anyone who disagrees with the materialist view is labelled a creationist?. Of course Intelligent Design is an alternative to evolution, like cartesian dualism is an alternative to theories that mind is either epiphenomenal or an emergent property of the brain. The question is should science be fully materialistic or dualistic?. For me after studying the evidence, I have come to the conclusion that we live in a dualistic universe.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
The Dying Brain Hypothesis Lives On
Jason J. Braithwaite, a researcher in visual cognitive neuroscience has wrote a critique on Dr. Pim Van Lommel's study on nde's. His criticisms are that survivalist's nde researchers have completely misunderstood what the dying brain hypothesis really says. According to this theory, as formulated by Susan Blackmore and others, it's not the mere presence of anoxia that causes vivid seeming hallucinations, but the rate of its onset. If it comes on too rapidly, the patient will lose consciousness and black out, so no conscious experience or memory could occur.
He also mentions studies done on epileptics that show large scale seizure activity occurring in deep sub-cortical regions, that does not register at all on scalp-based EEG traces - an indication that an EEG is an unreliable measure of neural activity.
True, their maybe some deep brain activity that the instruments may not detect. The question really is not that their is no brain activity going on, but is it the specific form as regarded by contemporary neuroscience as the necessary condition of conscious experience. Activity of this form is eminently detectable by current EEG technology, and as we have already shown, it is abolished both by adequate general anesthesia and by cardiac arrest.
He also cites evidence that inter-ictal discharges in the hippocampus or amygdala alone are more than sufficient to produce complex meaningful hallucinations - no involvement from the cortex is necessary.
Yeah ok hallucinations which is the keyword here. Their are clear differences in nde's that happen in cardiac arrest or clinical death compared to electrical stimulation to the brain. This has been shown not just by nde researchers but also by other neuroscientists. Such as Dr. Edward Kelly and Dr.Emily Kelly in their book called the Irreducible Mind.
He also mentions studies done on epileptics that show large scale seizure activity occurring in deep sub-cortical regions, that does not register at all on scalp-based EEG traces - an indication that an EEG is an unreliable measure of neural activity.
True, their maybe some deep brain activity that the instruments may not detect. The question really is not that their is no brain activity going on, but is it the specific form as regarded by contemporary neuroscience as the necessary condition of conscious experience. Activity of this form is eminently detectable by current EEG technology, and as we have already shown, it is abolished both by adequate general anesthesia and by cardiac arrest.
He also cites evidence that inter-ictal discharges in the hippocampus or amygdala alone are more than sufficient to produce complex meaningful hallucinations - no involvement from the cortex is necessary.
Yeah ok hallucinations which is the keyword here. Their are clear differences in nde's that happen in cardiac arrest or clinical death compared to electrical stimulation to the brain. This has been shown not just by nde researchers but also by other neuroscientists. Such as Dr. Edward Kelly and Dr.Emily Kelly in their book called the Irreducible Mind.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Keith Augustine has updated his essay called Hallucinatory Near-Death Experiences. He expands greatly on mentioning his exchange with nde researchers called Does Paranormal Perception Occur in NDEs?
http://www.iands.org/pubs/jnds/jnds25.html
To me Keith Augustine completely underestimates probability theory. I mean their are thousands of near death experience with apparent accurate out of body perceptions. Now Keith mentions some cases which appear to show that some nde's are hallucinatory.
http://www.iands.org/pubs/jnds/jnds25.html
To me Keith Augustine completely underestimates probability theory. I mean their are thousands of near death experience with apparent accurate out of body perceptions. Now Keith mentions some cases which appear to show that some nde's are hallucinatory.
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