https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussi ... ent/441467
Mind, Causality, and Evolution
the causal relevance of the mind in relation to the matter in the brain — Francis
The Mind, in the sense of Beliefs & Emotions, definitely has causal effects (psychosomatic) on human behavior. And in order to influence behavior, those immaterial feelings & beliefs must somehow cause physical changes in the brain & body, including angry outbursts and physical illness. But exactly how that works is only understood sketchily. I assume you have a layman's theory to explain that two-way causation.
I have my own layman's theory (
Enformationism) of how & why Life & Consciousness emerged from lifeless & mindless matter. But, it doesn't go into detail about how Mind influences Brain. So, I'd like to see where you are coming from with your theory.
I am going to be assuming the position known as interactionism. — Francis
I wasn't familiar with the concept of "Interactionism", so I looked it up. In Sociology it's a hypothetical perspective (not yet an accepted theory) on how the social environment affects individuals, and vice-versa. But neither the sociological nor psychological applications seem to be mainstream theories at this moment. In Psychology, Interactionism appears to be an update of Cartesian Dualism : " He held that mind was distinct from matter, but could influence matter."
Interactionism :
Sociology -- "This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactionism
Psychology -- "Psychologically, interactionism refers to the theory that the mind is composed of two separate entities, mind and body, each of which affects the other."
https://www.alleydog.com/glossary/defin ... ractionism
Behavior of matter in the brain is changed from what it would have been if governed completely by the understood rules of physics and chemistry. — Francis
So this theory postulates non-physical (metaphysical) rules? What are those rules, and how do we discover them in brain studies? Are there scientific papers in which they infer those metaphysical laws?
It is a multitude of physical objects in the brain — Francis
Is this based on the Modular Mind hypothesis of how the various specialized brain areas work together to produce coordinated thoughts & behaviors?
Modular Mind :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modularity_of_mind
Organisms who their mutations cause benefit will survive better and reproduce in greater numbers — Francis
The concept of "evolutionary benefit" sounds like either
Lamarkism or
NDE. Darwinian evolution doesn't assert “benefits” but only “differences” that are selected by the filter of circumstances. "Beneficial" effects assume "intentional" purposes. Again, that's not a mainstream scientific position, but I too see some signs of Intention behind Evolution.
Non-Darwinian Evolution :
http://www.biologyaspoetry.com/terms/no ... ution.html
https://projecteuclid.org/download/pdf_ ... 1200514590
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 571730339X
In the Property-Dualist Interactionist model which I subscribe to we call this other aspect of reality a non-physical property. — Francis
A "non-physical" Property of a physical object is what scientists call a "Quality" or a "Function" of the object. Causation does indeed result in new properties that were not apparent in the original parts of the system. But you seem to be implying a Metaphysical cause of some kind. I have also postulated a Metaphysical form of causation, which I call "Enformy".
Enformy :
http://blog-glossary.enformationism.info/page8.html
A first change in behavior of matter from what would be expected purely from the predictions of physics and chemistry. For convenience I will refer to this moment in evolution as the initial alteration. — Francis
In Physics a sudden "change in behavior of matter" is called a "Phase Transition". And the sudden emergence of new properties is assumed to be mysterious only because the intermediate steps happen so quickly that we can't discern the intermediate cause & effect stages. Do you have a more fine-grained explanation for something as common as liquid Water instantly becoming solid Ice, with completely different characteristics?
Phase Change :
Mind as a causal force
http://bothandblog2.enformationism.info/page70.html
the possibility that the initial alteration was due to some other unknown property other than consciousness. — Francis
A Spiritual property (Soul)? Supernatural intervention?