[MD] Mystics and Brains

[pholden at davtv.com]

Quoting craigerb at comcast.net:

> [Craig previously] 
> > Many changes have occurred in the past.
> 
> [Platt] 
> > If the past can change, please change...
> 
> That changes have occurred in the past does not mean someone can change the past. 
> "You cannot change the past" is not an empirical statement like "You cannot change
> the orbit of Earth".  Rather it is a grammatical statement (in Wittgenstein's
> sense) that in our language we give no sense to "changing the past". 

Huh? You can't change the past because empirically you can't change the past.
(Aren't all statements grammatical?)

> [Platt] 
> > Nobody experienced the [tetonic] plates crashing into each other, but somebody
> theorized 
> > that the event occured and somehow you became familiar with the theory. So IT
> only 
> > resides in your present memory, and the memory of others who know about the 
> > theory. 
> 
> If IT refers to the theory then what you say is true.  But if IT refers to the
> crashing tetonic plates, then no.  

Then yes. Crashing tetonic plates only occur in your present imagination. You may
strongly believe now that crashing plates occurred in the past, and can now point
to evidence that it happened. But you can't leave the now to actually witness
the events. 

> [Platt] 
> > When and if you manage to escape the present as you go about your daily life, 
> > do let us know your secret.
> 
> Again, "You cannot escape the present" is not an empirical statement like "You
> cannot escape from Alcatraz".  It shows "escaping the present" has no use in (the
> expected language-game of) the language.

Huh? If you can empirically escape the present by time travel, please let us know
the winning number in next week's lottery drawing. Any lottery will do. :-)



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