Midterm: Eliminative Materialism

Eliminative Materialism

“Eliminative materialism is reason writ large.” The problem with eliminative materialism   is that we allow things that may not exist to change our way of thinking about almost everything except for ourselves. It explains why certain events occur in our body, mind, society, and world. What I found interesting is that eliminative materialism changes our perception about almost everything except how perceive ourselves.  The question then becomes how we motivate ourselves. The video, Intelligent Reductionism talks about humans becoming motivated through desire, motivation, love, anger, and free will. Motivation doesn’t occur through brain power but through our own conscious thoughts. The consciousness is said to come from a more ancient religious background.

I think of the idea “Well God did it” coming from the thought that if something can’t be explained then it is the doing of God who created it. The process of finding the unknown starts with mathematics then goes to physics, chemistry, biology, sociology, then ending with sociology until it can be explain leaving the though it must be God. I agree with the statement about people finding any and every way they can explain how things work or are made so that the thought of the unknown doesn’t have to exist. Each method for finding a solution to a theory started with someone who desperately wanted to know the answer to an observation. There are many famous people such as Einstein or Plato who made it easier for people to take their theories and solve their own problems or questions that needed answer.

The one thing that interests me the most is how people can do extraordinary things because they are motivated. I agree with the fact that motivation comes from a conscious thought and I believe the mind is an extraordinary thing which gives people the will power to do anything. I think of athletes, singers, mathematicians, scientist and what may motivate them. Kobe Bryant for example wants to be the best he can be at doing what he loves, Basketball, he works hard every day training to become better. I feel the one thing most people can relate to when it comes to being motivated is achieving success in any form important to them.