Expert: Marco - 8/22/2007

Question
In one of your past answers, you are presenting Psyche as evidence of God's existence.  I am writing below some points for which I need your further clarification, please:

1.   You say “The sensation "sound" exist only in the psychical reality, and not in the physical reality; the auditory sensation is generated only by the psyche and is the psychical elaboration of a physical stimulus. In the same way, the chemical reactions and the electric impulses which occur in our brain are not emotions, feelings, awareness; they are only physical stimuli. It is our psyche who elaborates and translates these ordinary physical processes into emotions, feelings, etc. “.  If possible, please provide an elaborate explanation on the above.

2.   Can you explain how animals hear sound?

3.   Are you saying that it is impossible for science to find out whether animals have sensations and emotions?

4.   You say “The laws of physics prove that the psyche cannot be the product of physical, chemical or biological processes”.  What is the explanation of the scientific community as a whole for the existence of our psyche?

I appreciate your help.
Lenin


Answer
Dear Lenin,

I have some difficulties in elaborating a better explanantion. English is not my first language.
I can try with an example: colour.
Usually persons think colour is a properties of objects.
Actually colour is only a psychical subjective sensation.
Daltonic persons see colours in a different way.
This should make clearer that colour is only a subjective sensation. The same is true for all of our sensations.

2) The fact that animals can react to sounds can be explained as automatic reactions. We know that the phisical phenomenon "sound" consists in pressure waves. These waves have energy and they can transmit their energy to many physical machines, such as microphones (this is the reason why we can record and reproduce music)
The apparatus of the animal can absorbe the energy of the sound waves, exactly as a microphone does.
This does not implies any sensations.

3) Yes, it is not possible for science to establish whether animals have sensations or not.

4) There is no explanation of the scientific community "as a whole". The problem of consciousness is usually considered as an open problem.

I  hope this may help,

your brother in Christ,

Marco