Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Date of Degree

6-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Program

Liberal Studies

Advisor

Richard Brown

Committee Members

David Humphries

Subject Categories

Epistemology | Metaphysics | Philosophy of Language | Philosophy of Mind | Philosophy of Science

Keywords

Consciousness, physics, metaphysics, theology, cosmology, neurology

Abstract

Physicalism is a philosophy of mind which attempts to explain consciousness as resulting from physical causes. The lack of a complete and consistent mathematical theory to explain physical causation has led other philosophers of mind to propose that consciousness is a nonphysical essence, property, or substance. However, the idea that physics can be defined atomically and/or deterministically leads to explanatory problems for consciousness, as well as for the dualisms which explain consciousness under these assumptions. This thesis advances a position called “continuous physicalism” which takes all material to result from deformations in the physical medium of space, and any changes in these materials to result from indeterministic natural processes. Consciousness is redefined as a discrete but ephemeral object formed by these changes, rather than as an essence which observes atomic and/or deterministic physics from a perspective outside of them. It further denies the essentialism underlying any mathematical and/or analytic theories of consciousness based on an infinite expansion model of the Big Bang Theory. Continuous physicalism will be elaborated and supported by empirical evidence from the studies of quantum mechanics, relativity, and neuroscience. It offers an understanding of how consciousness is physical, as well as a model for the detection of consciousness in potential subjects.

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