Nature Has a Mind of Its Own

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 W W W. T I K K U N . O R G T I K K U N 45 T he great American psychologist William James had just finished a lecture on the nature of reality when a little old lady approached him. “Excuse me, Professor,” she said, “but I’m afraid you’ve got it all wrong. The world is really supported on the back of a great big turtle.” Thevenerableprofessor,beingagentleman,decidedtohumor the woman: “Tell me, then, what is holding the turtle up?” Quick as a flash, the old lady snapped back: “Another turtle, of course.” “And what’s supporting that turtle?” James asked, trying gentlytogethertoseehermistake.Theconversationwentonlike this for another round or two until the little old lady interrupted with a noticeable tremor of exasperation: “Save your breath, sonny. It’s turtles all the way down.” At least so the story goes (though some associate it with BertrandRussellinsteadof WilliamJames).Trueornot,the“turtle ”incidentillustratesafundamentalintuitionweallshareabout the nature of reality: Something can’t come from nothing. Somethingmust “goallthewaydown”orallthewayback.EventheBig Bangmusthavehadsomekindof“fuse.”(Religions,ofcourse,say it was God.) Jameswasteachingaroundtheturnofthelastcentury,butthe little old lady’s point still carries force. In the modern-day version, turtles are replaced by consciousness. The question now is not what is holding the world up, but where did mind or consciousness come from? In a purely physical universe, the existence of mind is a profound puzzle. And if we are to believe the standard scientific view on this, then mind emerged from wholly mindless matter.Butjusthowthisoccurredremainsacompletemystery.In fact, in Radical Nature, I make the case that it couldn’t happen withoutamiracle.Andmiracleshavenoplaceinscience.Instead, our best option is to revive the old lady’s insight and proclaim that “consciousnessgoesallthewaydown.”Mindhasalwaysexistedin theuniverse.Cosmos—theworldofnature—hasamindofitsown. Searching for the “Soul Line” What’s the greatest mystery facing every person on the planet? Ultimately, it’s some version of the age-old “Where do I comefrom?WhyamIhere?WhereamIgoing?”Andthesequestions , which lie at the heart of all philosophy and religion, can be summed up as: “How do I fit in?” How do we humans (with our rich interior lives of emotions, feelings, imaginations, and ideas) fit into the world around us? According to science, the world is made up of mindless, soulless, purely physical atoms and energy. So far, no one has a satisfactory explanation for the existence of nonphysical minds in this otherwise physical universe. Welackanexplanationbecauseourquestionsalreadyassume something quite disturbing. We assume we are split from nature. We assume that humans are somehow special, that we have minds or souls while the rest of nature doesn’t. Some of us draw the “soul line” at higher animals and some of us draw it at living organisms; few of us draw no line at all. Ask yourself: Are rocks conscious? Do animals or plants have souls? Have you ever NatureHasaMindofItsOwn by Christian de Quincey ChristiandeQuincey,Ph.D.,isprofessorofphilosophyandconsciousnessstudiesatJohnF.KennedyUniversity.Heistheauthorof Conciousnessfrom Zombies to Angels, Radical Nature, andmanyotherbooks.Hecanbecontactedviawww.christiandequincey.com. “TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN” BY KENNETH ROUGEAU (KENNETHROUGEAU.COM) science.qxd:Politics 10/12/10 1:59 PM Page 45 46 T I K K U N W W W. T I K K U N . O R G N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 SCIENCE&SPIRIT wondered whether worms or insects might feel pain or pleasure? Cantreesfeelanythingatall?Youranswerswillrevealwhereyou are likely to draw the line. Inphilosophy,thisiscalledthe“consciousnesscut.”Where,in the great unfolding of evolution, did consciousness first appear? In contemporary philosophy and science, the cut-off is usually made at brains—if not human brains, then the brains of higher mammals.Onlycreatureswithhighlydevelopedbrainsornervous systemspossessconsciousness,sothescientific story goes. Because of our assumed “specialness,” because of the deep fissure between humans and the rest of nature, and because of the mind-body split, we need a new understanding of how we— ensouled, embodied humans—fit into the world of nature. Our current worldview, based on the materialist philosophy of modern science, presents us with a stark and alienating vision of a world that is intrinsically devoid of meaning, of purpose, of...