Gambit
Well-Known Member
Does consciousness play any causal role? If so, what role does it play?
According to (atheist) Susan Blackmore, consciousness does not play any causal role. It's simply an epiphenomenon. Here's her argument in a nutshell.
According to (atheist) Susan Blackmore, consciousness does not play any causal role. It's simply an epiphenomenon. Here's her argument in a nutshell.
The driving force behind everything that happens is replicator power. Genes fight it out to get into the next generation, and in the process biological design comes about. Memes fight it out to get passed on into another brain or book or object, and in the process cultural and mental design comes about. There is no need for any other source of design power. There is no need to call on the creative 'power of consciousness', for consciousness has no power. There is no need to invent the idea of free will. Free will, like the self who 'has' it, is an illusion. Terrifying as this thought seems, I suggest it is true. (source: pg. 236, "The Meme Machine" by Susan Blackmore)