By David Hegg
The straightforward assertions of Thomas Nagel, a tenured university professor of philosophy and law at New York University, in his book “Mind & Cosmos,” have robustly shaken the world of philosophy. He has stated that merely physical processes cannot account for the existence of “consciousness” among humans. In his words, this means “the materialist neo-Darwinian conception of nature is almost certainly false.”
Of course, those who have proclaimed and defended Darwinian evolution with religious-like zeal find this both unthinkable and detestable. And they are spewing all their venom at Dr. Nagel, whose only crime is suggesting that King Evolution has no clothes.
For as many summers as I can remember, my wife and I have vacationed in Central Oregon at a little slice of Heaven called Sunriver. There, after a week or so, my shoulders actually relax, my mind stops worrying about obligations, appointments and deadlines I need to meet, and I am simply able to enjoy the beauty around me. And it isn’t because I am just sitting around! No, we bike, hike, and are more active than we are during our daily hurried lives back home. And yet, after a few days in Sunriver, I am emotionally and relationally more at peace than ever.
What fascinates me is that the ways we rest our physical bodies are different from how our consciousness — our minds — find rest. For example, a hike that taxes the body refreshes the mind and soul. This is one place where Nagel’s ideas make sense.
Part of who we are is not physical and cannot be produced or maintained by merely physical processes. Call it the mind (as separate from the brain) or the soul or whatever, but it is clearly an essential part of who we are.
I would propose that the immaterial, spiritual element in mankind is our primary identity and that which elevates us above everything else that exists. Biblically, this is described as our being made as God’s image bearers, responsible to him to care for his creation. But even atheists like Nagel are realizing that, whatever its origin, the spiritual element in us displays itself in our consciousness, and in the way we think and act rationally.
So, back to our time in Sunriver. Since my job is primarily cerebral rather than demanding physical labor, “rest” takes on a new meaning. While rest for the body usually means the cessation of activity, I find that rest for my mind and soul comes primarily from being allowed to think, converse, reflect and write on subjects that infuse meaning into my life. My conscious investment in ideas, taking the time to muse, formulate, and read and write, feeds my mind and soul, rejuvenating them like getting nine hours of sleep for four straight nights rejuvenates my body.
Nagel’s suggestion regarding the conscious part of humanity squares with my experience. Rest is found in different ways for the material and immaterial parts of me. I find that my primary identity is in my consciousness, in my sense of who I am, and I live this out through the amazingly complex set of physical components that make up my body.
My point in all this is to say that our ethics can never be allowed to degenerate into a set of values that only speak to the physical nature of mankind. We are more than a purposeless mass of neutrons, protons and electrons. We are human and conscious of being human, and who we are as conscious humans means that life is not meaningless and absurd. No, we have life for a reason, and finding that reason and the ethical foundation that undergirds it remains the great purpose of being alive in the first place.
Thomas Nagel is not a theist, but he is coming closer and closer to recognizing that God is the only answer to the great questions of life. And this may be the only place where some of us are already ahead of a fantastic philosopher. I hope you’re one of us.
Local resident David Hegg is senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church. “Ethically Speaking” appears Sundays.
