Two-Part Special: Mind Matters!
Audio 1 here!
Audio 2 here!
What is the relationship between God and Mind, or between Brain and Mind for that matter? And speaking of matter, how can we explain how the brain as a biological organ can produce immaterial thoughts, and indeed consciousness itself? From where did the concept of God really originate befor…e it became a (but certainly not thE) foundational reason for the broader sociopolitical construct we call religion? And finally, if we can better understand the questions I’ve just articulated, can we have a better understanding of human behavior itself? We will address these questions today and next week with two social scientists who have themselves grappled with the nature of God, Mind, Brain and Human Behavior.
We will be speaking with Dr. Lester Nugent Garwood, a psychiatrist with his own practice in White City Oregon. Perhaps unique to his profession, Dr. Garwood is a philosophical determinist. That is, he identifies as a scientific naturalist which is a philosophical outlook which deems the notion of Free Will to be a bogus account of human behavior. On his Determinist Blog, regarding the notion of Free Will and political discourse, he notes that “The evidence shows that we are an intrinsic component of the universe–not apart from it. Thus, to maintain FW as a guiding principle in public policymaking is an increasingly expensive, often cruel, and consistently futile endeavor.”
We’ll also be speaking with Dr. Michael Graziano, a Professor of Psychology at Princeton University in New Jersey. He has a doctorate in Neuroscience and has lectured internationally on this field at various Neuroscience Colloquiums, including Rutgers University in NJ last year, and at the City College of NY this year. In his field of study, he has authored two books; “The Intelligent Movement Machine: An Ethological Perspective on the Primate Motor System,” an academic book published in 2008 by Oxford University Press; and, “God, Soul, Mind, Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Reflections on the Spirit World,” published for a wider audience this year. Dr. Graziano is also a science fiction author whose books include “The Love Story of Monkey,” and “Cretaceous Dawn” co-authored with his Sister, Lisa Graziano.