Tbe heart of most replies to the argument from reason is that a mental event can have both a mental and a physical cause. There are problems with that idea.
A preliminary, immediate reaction: Is expression in terms of causes the best approach? It is certainly not a necessary approach. Thinking in terms of causes is undoubtedly a useful initial perspective. However, thoughts in terms of causes are blunt instruments. More trenchant is thinking in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions. A multiplicity of necessary conditions can be required before a sufficient condition can be attained, and thinking in terms of such contributing factors has a greater likelihood of being significantly more informative than is thinking conducted simply in terms of causes. Human mental abilities evolve/develop. Is the heart of the issue what causes that development, or is the issue best approached in terms of what factors affect and effect that development?
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A preliminary, immediate reaction: Is expression in terms of causes the best approach? It is certainly not a necessary approach. Thinking in terms of causes is undoubtedly a useful initial perspective. However, thoughts in terms of causes are blunt instruments. More trenchant is thinking in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions. A multiplicity of necessary conditions can be required before a sufficient condition can be attained, and thinking in terms of such contributing factors has a greater likelihood of being significantly more informative than is thinking conducted simply in terms of causes. Human mental abilities evolve/develop. Is the heart of the issue what causes that development, or is the issue best approached in terms of what factors affect and effect that development?
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