Emotional Energy: A Platonic Dialogue by MC Complete

Daniel: You know what I think, Clement?  I think interaction dualism is a scientific hypothesis.

Clement: A scientific hypothesis? You mean, like Intelligent Design?

Daniel: No, I mean like general relativity. When Einstein first dreamed up the theory of relativity, it was not very testable. In the past century, we’ve developed better and better tools to allow us to test the theory. Some aspects, like gravitational waves, are still untested.

Clement: What are you saying? What “tools” do we need to “test” the Theory of Dualism, tools that we don’t currently have?

Daniel: There’s a huge neuroscientific gap. If and when we know more about how the brain really works, we will have a much better idea of whether dualism or materialism is correct.

Clement: I see. Your dualistic mind is a Mind Of The Gaps. That’s exactly what I hate about dualism. The gap in scientific knowledge gives your dualistic mind a place to hide. The smaller the gap gets, the less room it will have. Your dualistic attitude helps to stifle scientific inquiry.

Daniel: Stifle scientific inquiry? I embrace scientific inquiry! I have nothing to be afraid of. I’m not committed to either dualism or materialism. I just want to know what scientific inquiry will reveal, if successful. It’s those who are committed to one side of the debate, like you, who should be afraid.

Clement: Um, sorry if I’m not quaking in my boots, but I’m not really expecting further inquiries into neuroscience to reveal the intervention of an immaterial soul.

Daniel: What makes you so sure?

Clement: Well, the conservation of energy, for one thing.

Daniel: I don’t understand why you seem to think that the Argument from Energy is so watertight. Haven’t you ever heard of emotional energy?

Clement: Emotional energy?

Daniel: Maybe the mind itself is a repository of energy -- maybe some mind/brain interactions transfer energy to the mind from the brain, and some interactions transfer energy from the brain to the mind.

Clement: If the mind can have energy, can it also have mass? Can it have a physical position? If so, in what sense is it not physical?

Daniel: It could have some of those things, or none of those things. It is not physical in the sense that experience is essentially not physical, in other words, experience is an extra property not accounted for yet by physics. Or maybe it’s dark energy.

Clement: Dark energy? Are you serious?

Daniel: No. I mean, no and yes. Dark energy shows that there are some gaps in our understanding of energy as well. Sean Carrol (a strong materialist, by the way) has recently suggested that energy is not always conserved. Or maybe it *is* dark energy. That’s my point, we just don’t know. The conservation of energy is not, in and of itself, a reason to stifle scientific inquiry into the nature of the spirit.

Clement: OK, let’s leave energy aside for a moment. If immaterial souls can causally influence the internals of brain, why can’t my soul control your brain (and thus, your body)?

Daniel: There could be many reasons why. At this point, we don’t have enough empirical data to suggest an answer to such specific questions.

Clement: Can you think of a reason why? Even without evidence, can you imagine a dualist physics that might count as a coherent answer to that question?

Daniel: Good question.  Give me a minute to come up with something, willya?

Clement: No problem. I have all the time in the world.  I'm a fictional character, and the reader won't notice the time passing anyway.

Daniel: Hey Clement, you know what?

Clement: No, what?

Daniel: Nothing's coming to mind.  I think I'll have to get back to you on this one.

Clement: Good luck, Daniel.  Note that I'm not holding my breath.