Warning:
This Book May Change Your Worldview
Whether you are a materialist or follow a
conventional religion, this book will make you think hard about your
beliefs. Or if you are uncertain, this book will help you think clearly
about science and religion.
This book thinks critically about materialism, the
theory that only matter exists and mind or spirit is a byproduct of
matter. It shows that what philosophers call "dualism," the
idea that matter and spirit exist independently, is more plausible than
materialism.
It begins by reviewing the arguments that
philosophers have used to show that computers cannot have consciousness.
Then it shows that materialism cannot provide a
basis for scientific knowledge or morality-and shows that it is
self-contradictory to claim that science has proven that only matter
exists.
It looks critically at the evidence from
near-death experiences and at the attempts to explain away these
experiences.
It concludes by asking how we can reconcile
religion with science, looking at a wide range of religions.
From the beginning, the book takes a skeptical,
critical approach to both materialism and religious faith:
"As a congenital skeptic, I cannot believe
something unless I have some reason to think that it is true. Yet I find
that preachers of materialism can be just as dogmatic as preachers of
religion.
"For example, Steven Pinker claims that a
computer that modeled the human brain would have consciousness like ours
because the idea that computers can have minds is 'as fundamental to
cognitive science as the cell doctrine is to biology and plate tectonics
is to geology'-which is like saying you believe God created the universe
because it is a fundamental doctrine of your religion.
"Pinker thinks he is being scientific, but
science is based on evidence. There is plenty of evidence for cell
doctrine and plate tectonics, but no evidence at all that computers can
have consciousness."
This book rejects both materialist dogmas and
religious dogmas. Instead, it follows the evidence and sees how far it
can lead us.