physical events, while immaterial events can only produce further mental events.
Premise 2: There are cases where mental events are apparently produced or set in .
motion by physical events and vice-versa.
Conclusion 3: Therefore these mental events must actually be physical events .
existing as combinations of matter in motion. (107-108).
While the simplicity of Materialism is indeed appealing and might be true, unfortunately for Mr. Hobbes, this argument is not as well established. I agree that if Premise 1 and Premise 2 are true then the conclusion would inherently follow. However, Premise 1 is not a true statement and thus the very foundation of the argument is unsound. We must agree through mere experience that there are mental events that occur that cannot under any circumstances be characterized as physical events. One argument proving this is the Foresight and Expectation argument by traditional dualist C. E. M. Joad which goes as follows:.
Premise 1: Humans have thoughts of the future and are influenced by them.
Premise 2: Such a thought cannot be caused by any physical stimulus because .
the "future" by definition is not a material event. .
Conclusion 3: Thus we can infer that a nonmaterial mind exists separate from the .
body. ( Klemke 168-169).
This argument is both valid and sound and thus efficiently discredits Hobbes" argument. My overall criticism of the Materialistic theory in general lies in the theory's complete denial of any distinction between the mind and body. Mere life experience is enough to refute this claim. Humans have feelings, emotions, sensations, etc. that are not just sequences of "physical brain occurrences." Whether or not such physical sequences in the brain cause these immaterial events is of no matter. All that needs to be known and understood is that they are very distinguishable from one another. This alone proves that Materialists cannot efficiently reduce the mind into mere physical events of the material world.
