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re: Mind and Brain
December 17, 2008 by NeuroJoe, 46 weeks 4 days ago
Comment id: 33418
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Quote: "Needless to say, most people cherish the idea of being able to survive the death of their bodies, so materialism is more than an 'astonishing hypothesis,' to use Crick's (1994) term: it is a truly distressing and alienating one."
I think this is analogous to one of the main problems that many of us who teach evolution also run into in the classroom. Most people want to believe that there is something special about humans compared to other "lower" organisms, when in fact there is not. (Other than our ability to destroy ecosystems like none other that is... :< ) We got to where we are by the environment acting upon random genetic differences, just like every other organism.
Joe Burdo
Assistant Professor of Neurobiology
Bridgewater State College
(My bizarre and/or nonsensical rantings may not reflect the beliefs of who signs my paychecks!)