Friday, November 03, 2006

A most interesting piece ...

... The Critical Distinction Between Science and Religion

No doubt we could conduct brain-imaging studies to demonstrate differences in the activity of cerebral structures while listening to the Ninth Symphony and to white noise. Would that tell us anything about the aesthetic experience? Would it mean that this experience is explained by the activity of that specific brain region? Is that all there is to it? Is the majesty of listening to Beethoven, viewing the Grand Canyon, or appreciating the vastness of the universe merely the product of increased activity of certain regions in the brain? And could we reproduce these experiences simply by administering the right medication or electrical stimulation?
But, as neurophysiologist Russell Brain pointed out in Mind, Perception and Science, we already "can record simultaneously the frequency of the sound-stimulus, and the electrical response which it evokes in the auditory cortex." And we know that "these are entirely dissimilar." Likewise, we know that the message comes across the line and into the phone receiver, but the message and the phone apparatus are entirely dissimilar also. The brain activity communicates the experience, but is not the same as the experience and does not explain the experience.

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