Jonneh
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2014
- Messages
- 226
I have a theory that plant spirits and chemical compounds are the same thing, just different names...
I think you're getting at something quite beautiful and profound here. Quantum mechanics is never going to be the preferred mode of explanation with which to understand a table and its functions, and not merely for lack of computational tractability. There are levels of explanation, and both can be true (albeit to different extents, depending on what metric of 'truth' we use) and consistent with one another. Similarly, molecules and spirits may well be concepts that map onto one another in 'causality space' - i.e. they play the same causal roles in their respective levels of explanation. Molecules have effects on the brain, spirits have effects on psychology. They are isomorphic in some way. Of course, it won't necessarily be the case that all Western concepts map onto some indigenous concept. We or they may know more about, or have better explanations of, a particular phenomenon. But explanations appeal to the human capacity to understand, so to the extent that this varies, it's horses for courses. I think the courses are similar though, so with this level playing field, we can have a winner. And everyone can have a burger from that horse.
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