Consciousness and matter

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Conscious state resulting from matter activity allows decision therefore it allows us to breaks chain of causality.
 
tonyrey said:
Probably our intervention alters the normal course of (physical) events. For example we can prevent a river from killing people by building a barrier.
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No. It means that we break the chain of causality every time we decide, otherwise we are part of causal chain.
 
STT said:
Conscious state resulting from matter activity allows decision therefore it allows us to breaks chain of causality.
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Modern Catholic Dictionary,* Substance: A being whose essence requires that it exist in itself. It is an ens per se (a being by itself) or ens in se (a being in itself). It is commonly distinguished from an accident, whose essence is to exist in another, that is, in a substance. (Etym. Latin substantia, that which stands under, principle, foundation.)

What we have from St. Thomas Aquinas (which is not materialism) is summarized below (reference Catholic Encylopedia):
  • the rational soul, which is one with the sensitive and vegetative principle, is the form of the body. This was defined as of faith by the Council of Vienne of 1311;
  • the soul is a substance, but an incomplete substance, i.e. it has a natural aptitude and exigency for existence in the body, in conjunction with which it makes up the substantial unity of human nature;
  • though connaturally related to the body, it is itself absolutely simple, i.e. of an unextended and spiritual nature. It is not wholly immersed in matter, its higher operations being intrinsically independent of the organism;
  • the rational soul is produced by special creation at the moment when the organism is sufficiently developed to receive it. In the first stage of embryonic development, the vital principle has merely vegetative powers; * then a sensitive soul comes into being, educed from the evolving potencies of the organism — * later yet, this is replaced by the perfect rational soul, which is essentially immaterial and so postulates a special creative act.
    Many modern theologians have abandoned this last point of St. Thomas’s teaching, and maintain that a fully rational soul is infused into the embryo at the first moment of its existence.
Maher, M., & Bolland, J. (1912). Soul. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
newadvent.org/cathen/14153a.htm
 
Vico said:
Modern Catholic Dictionary,* Substance: A being whose essence requires that it exist in itself. It is an ens per se (a being by itself) or ens in se (a being in itself). It is commonly distinguished from an accident, whose essence is to exist in another, that is, in a substance. (Etym. Latin substantia, that which stands under, principle, foundation.)

What we have from St. Thomas Aquinas (which is not materialism) is summarized below (reference Catholic Encylopedia):
  • the rational soul, which is one with the sensitive and vegetative principle, is the form of the body. This was defined as of faith by the Council of Vienne of 1311;
  • the soul is a substance, but an incomplete substance, i.e. it has a natural aptitude and exigency for existence in the body, in conjunction with which it makes up the substantial unity of human nature;
  • though connaturally related to the body, it is itself absolutely simple, i.e. of an unextended and spiritual nature. It is not wholly immersed in matter, its higher operations being intrinsically independent of the organism;
  • the rational soul is produced by special creation at the moment when the organism is sufficiently developed to receive it. In the first stage of embryonic development, the vital principle has merely vegetative powers; * then a sensitive soul comes into being, educed from the evolving potencies of the organism — * later yet, this is replaced by the perfect rational soul, which is essentially immaterial and so postulates a special creative act.
    Many modern theologians have abandoned this last point of St. Thomas’s teaching, and maintain that a fully rational soul is infused into the embryo at the first moment of its existence.
Maher, M., & Bolland, J. (1912). Soul. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
newadvent.org/cathen/14153a.htm
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There is no need for soul.
 
STT said:
Conscious state resulting from matter activity allows decision therefore it allows us to breaks chain of causality.
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If conscious “state” results from “matter activity”, then it is an effect within a causality chain, isn’t it?

Do you think that conscious “state” is something which subsists in itself once it is produced as an effect of “matter activity”, or that it is a continuous effect of such activity?
 
STT said:
Yes, it is.
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Then, continuing with the hypothetical argument, every decision would be an effect of a causality chain. And such causality chain would be at least part of the cause of the actions that follow, if any.
 
JuanFlorencio said:
Then, continuing with the hypothetical argument, every decision would be an effect of a causality chain. And such causality chain would be at least part of the cause of the actions that follow, if any.
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Yes. We are able to recognize the available chains and create the one we choose.
 
Therefore, the consequence of the hypothetical argument would be that we, conscious beings, do not break the causality chains when we make decisions, which refutes the OP…
 
JuanFlorencio said:
Therefore, the consequence of the hypothetical argument would be that we, conscious beings, do not break the causality chains when we make decisions, which refutes the OP…
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I think it is like this: We are aware of available options. Each option is related to a chain of causality among them there is the chain of current state (when we don’t decide to do anything different). We switch from one chain to another when we consciously decide. So we the break chain of causality and choose another one.
 
STT said:
I think it is like this: We are aware of available options. Each option is related to a chain of causality among them there is the chain of current state (when we don’t decide to do anything different). We switch from one chain to another when we consciously decide. So we the break chain of causality and choose another one.
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You are mentioning two conscious “state” modes in your response:


  1. *]The awareness of multiple options.
    *]The conscious decision about one of those options.

    Do you think these conscious “state” modes are not effects of matter activity?
 
JuanFlorencio said:
You are mentioning two conscious “state” modes in your response:


  1. *]The awareness of multiple options.
    *]The conscious decision about one of those options.

    Do you think these conscious “state” modes are not effects of matter activity?
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  1. Conscious “state” modes are effects of matter activity. The conscious “state” modes of brain as you realize is multi-realizable. This allows us to switch between modes of options using mode of decision.
 
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