If you are an atheist, do you think it\u2019s accurate to use the term mind? I understand that it sufficiently conveys the point in everyday conversation, but, epistemically\u2013shouldn\u2019t an atheist limit themselves to belief in brains only?<\/p>\n
I often attempt to envision the positions I\u2019d hold if I were an atheist. As regards mind, if I were an atheist, I would probably categorize it with soul as an equally non-existent entity. In my experience, many an atheist has asked, \u201cWhat does it mean to say one has a soul? Where is the evidence for the soul? What type of entity is the soul?\u201d Similarly, what does it mean to say that one has a mind? Where is the evidence for the mind? What type of entity is the mind?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I\u2019ll take a quick crack at this question, since I\u2019m one of those atheists who don\u2019t<\/em> use the terms brain and mind\u00a0interchangeably. \u00a0When I talk about the brain, I\u2019m talking about that three pound lump of flesh which runs all autonomous bodily functions (breathing, secreting hormones, etc), which integrates various sense perceptions into a model of the physical world, and which runs the \u2018software\u2019 that we think of when we think of thinking.<\/p>\nI think of my \u2018I\u2019 as being in some way analogous to an algorithm. \u00a0Given data (from the outside world, from imagining of alternatives, from abstract reasoning) it comes to conclusions which are put into action. \u00a0Sometimes action is simple physical action (I want a book, it\u2019s out of reach, so I get up and get it). \u00a0Sometimes action is more diffuse (I know a friend is going through a touch time, so I try to find more\u00a0opportunities\u00a0to be helpful to them). \u00a0And sometimes action is choosing to reprogram my thinking algorithm (I\u2019ve recognized that a particular way I think is unhealthy, so I practice squashing it and work to eliminate it from my habits).<\/p>\n
All these processes are \u2018run\u2019 on the \u2018hardware\u2019 of my brain, and, currently, there\u2019s no way I could transfer the me-program to any other piece of hardware. \u00a0But I don\u2019t think of my me-program or any similar program as being intrinsically limited to running on a human brain. \u00a0I think silicon based AI is a\u00a0possibility, and it may even be possible to port existing human consciousnesses onto other substrates.<\/p>\n
In that case, my existence as an embodied entity, running my software on a physical brain would be an important part of my history and identity, but not<\/em> necessarily a constraint on who I might be in the future. \u00a0Therefore, I use the word \u2018brain\u2019 to talk about the current home and tools of my mind as well as the bits of program that perform maintenance on my body. \u00a0I use the word \u2018mind\u2019 to talk about everything I\u2019d want to port over to a new piece of hardware, if I ever had the opportunity.<\/p>\n
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