@smcder It is sometimes objected that distinct physical and mental states could not interact, since there is no causal nexus between them. But one lesson from Hume and from modern science is that the same goes for any fundamental causal interactions, including those found in physics. Newtonian science reveals no causal nexus by which gravitation works, for example; rather, the relevant laws are simply fundamental. The same goes for basic laws in other physical theories. And the same, presumably, applies to fundamental psychophysical laws: there is no need for a causal nexus distinct from the physical and mental properties themselves.
By far the most influential objection to interactionism is that it is incompatible with physics. ...
Where did you get this text from? Is there a link to the full article/book? Re: the bolded line: I would add the phrase "our current understanding of" physics.
@smcder I think the experiments I referred to are covered here: Neuroscience of free will - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I'll check them out. The experiment I linked to was from 12/13, so it's very recent. The jury is obviously still out on this, but I think the tide is shifting. Research into the Executive Functions has shed incredible light on the function of self-awareness:
My own
intuitive belief is along these lines as well:
It has been suggested that consciousness mostly serves to cancel certain actions initiated by the unconscious.
While cancelling actions (what I would call impulse control or inhibiting) is one important (social) function of self-awareness, there are several others. The executive functions have been called the "I." The "I" is whatever we are self-aware of at any given moment. Recall that until Helen Keller attained self-awareness, she had no sense of "I" and she was wild and out-of-control. She was guided only by the unconscious; she was essentially operating via stimulus (experience) and unconscious (non-self-aware) response.
From the evolutionary perspective, I believe the unconscious (non-self-aware) mind developed first and effectively guided (and guides) organisms through life. I believe all organisms that process information (and according to ITT create integrated information) have minds.
The unconscious is vast and deep. Organisms - especially complex ones - are receiving, processing, and storing staggering amounts of information. Staggering. The processing power of organisms and the efficiency (size and power consumption) with which they do it is without precedent.
I believe the conscious (self-aware) mind developed second. I don't believe all organisms are self-aware. I believe the self-aware "layer" of mind serves the functions outlined by Barkley:
emotion regulation, self-motivation, planning, and working memory enable people to pursue both personal and collective goals that are critical to survival.
I believe this extra, self-aware layer of mind does have causal influence over the organism. I'm not sure what the mechanism is. This may not jive with deterministic physics, as it is currently understood, but science currently only looks at the objective level of reality, but mind is something ontologically distinct - the subjective; and self-aware mind is something perhaps ontologically distinct from that. "The paradox to be explained is not that body and mind communicate but that cognition and consciousness communicate." Chalmers
The above is all incredibly naive and simplistic, I know. (That's because, as you know, it's my self-aware mind trying to make sense of reality.) Another approach to the unconscious/conscious layers/aspects of minds is perhaps the two hemispheres of the brain.
@smcder linked to this book some time ago:
The Master and His Emissary.
I'm not sure that the two hemispheres are analogous with the conscious and unconscious aspects of mind, but they play a role.
Again, the PEL episode about Jung really touches on the unconscious/conscious aspects of mind.
Another way of thinking about the unconscious and conscious - by way of EF - is to think of it like a large corporation, like a construction company. The unconscious mind would be all the workers, equipment, and the knowledge and data they gather. The conscious mind would be the foreman "in charge" of steering the operation in a certain direction.
While the foreman does have "control" over the company, it is extremely limited, and he is only aware - at any given moment - of a small fraction of the huge amount of data being processed and exchanged, not to mention the thousands of decisions his employees are making beneath him.
