i am sharing excerpts from an article by alin cucu entitled “turning the tables: how neuroscience supports interactive dualism.” the author begins his article with the statement, “physicalists typically believe that neurophysiology HaS REFUTED THE THESIS THAT NON-PHYSICAL MINDS CAN INTERACT WITH THE BRAIN. IN THIS PAPER, I ARGUE THAT IT IS PRECISELY A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NEUROPHYSIOLOGY OF VOLITIONAL ACTIONS THAT SUGGESTS OTHERWISE. . . . A THEORY THAT DEFINITELY PREDICTS SUCH A CAUSAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE MIND IS INTERACTIVE DUALISM, WHERE THE NON-PHYSICAL MIND IS CONSTRUED IN TERMS OF EITHER MENTAL PROPERTIES, OR A MENTAL SUBSTANCE. . . . THE AUTHOR FAIRLY IDENTIFIES “ONE BIG DIVIDE BETWEEN . . . VIEWS . . . THAT SEEK TO MAKE INTERACTION ENERY-CONSERVING . . . AND ACCOUNTS THAT ACCEPT ENERGY NON-CONSERVATION.” THE AUTHOR SUBSCRIBES TO THE ENERGY NON-CONSERVATION VIEW, BUT HE GIVES COMPELLING SUPPORT TO INTERACTIVE DUALISM. CONTINUING, CUCU STATES, “FIRST, IT IS IMPORTANT TO MAKE CLEAR WHAT I UNDERSTAND BY ‘VOLITIONAL (OR VOLUNTARY) ACTION’. I USE THE TERM HERE IN THE NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL SENSE, WHERE IT REFERS TO THOSE BODY MOVEMENTS THAT THE SUBJECT REPORTS TO HAVE ‘WILLED’ AND WHICH OCCUR INDEPENDENTLY OF EXTERNAL STIMULI. . . . THE CANONICAL FORM OF VOLUNTARY ACTION IS SELF-INITIATED ACTION . . . WHICH WE DEFINE AS VOLUNTARY ACTION INITIATED WITHOUT ANY SENSORY CUE. . . . A VOLITIONAL ACTION IS AN ACTION BROUGHT ABOUT ‘CONSCIOUSLY’ OR ‘INTENTIONALLY’ AS OPPOSED TO REFLEXIVELY . . . BECAUSE IT EXCLUSIVELY CONSIDERS THE CAUSAL CONTRIBUTION OF THE AGENT. . . . THE NEUROBIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXTERNALLY TRIGGERED AND ‘PURE’ VOLITIONAL ACTIONS IS FURTHER BUTTRESSED BY EXPERIMENTS SHOWING THAT AN ACTIVITY INCREASE IN THE SMA [SUPPLEMENTARY MOTOR AREA] TAKES PLACE DURING THE MENTAL EXERCISE OF MOTOR ACTIONS [I HAVE DISCUSSED THIS ACTIVITY IN MY BOOKS]. . . . DUALISTS CAN AND SHOULD [STATE] THAT INTERACTIONS ARE ARGUABLY VERY ‘GENTLE’, I.E. THEY DON’T MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO HOW THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN WITHOUT THEM. . . . INTERACTIONS THUS DO NOT HAVE TO MOVE BIOLOGICAL STRUCTURES FROM A STATE OF COMPLETE REST BUT RATHER SLIGHTLY ALTER THE TRAJECTORIES OF SYSTEMS ALREADY IN MOTION” [AS HAS BEEN DISCUSSED IN A PREVIOUS BLOG]. “IT COULD BE THAT AT LEAST SOME BRAIN EVENTS REQUIRE A NON-PHYSICAL EXPLANATION, IN WHICH CASE INTERACTIVE DUALISM . . . WOULD BE TRUE.”
THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF MY RESEARCH FOR OVER 25 YEARS HAS BEEN TO FIND AND PRESENT COMPELLING EVIDENCE FOR DUALIST INTERACTIONISM, HOW AN IMMATERIAL MIND, INCLUDING THE MIND OF GOD/HIS HOLY SPIRIT, INTERACTS IN A CAUSAL MANNER WITH THE MATERIAL COMPONENTS OF THE BRAIN’S NEURAL SYNAPTIC NETWORKS. I HAVE ALSO IDENTIFIED WHERE AN INTENTION OF THE COGNITIVE MIND INITIALLY ACTS ON THE APICAL DENDRITIC TUFTS OF PYRAMIDAL CELL COLUMNS SO THAT SYNCHRONOUS WAVE FORMS ARE MATCHED AND BY THE ACTION OF QUANTUM TUNNELING STIMULATE THE TRANSMISSION OF ENCODED ACTION POTENTIAL ACROSS THE SYNAPSES OF NEURAL SYNAPTIC NETWORKS WITH INTENDED ACTIONS. THIS SYSTEM OF INFORMATION TRANSMISSION CREATED BY GOD HAS MADE POSSIBLE A BIDIRECTIONAL COMMUNION WITH OUR CREATOR, HIS SON JESUS CHRIST AND HIS HOLY SPIRIT.