Cheers to everybody that took part last time, there was some really interesting discussion. To counter the dichotomy of last week's hypothetical, this week we have something a little more conceptual and less 'A or B'.
Land of the Epiphens
Epiphenia was a remarkable planet. So like Earth in appearance, and yet its inhabitants were different in one remarkable way.
As one of them, Huxley, explained to the visiting Earthling Dirk, the Epiphens had long ago 'discovered' that their thoughts did not affect their actions. Thoughts were the effects of bodily processes, not the other way around. Dirk found this baffling.
'You can't really believe this,' he protested to Huxley. 'For instance, when we met in this bar, you said, "Gee, I could kill for a beer," and ordered one. Are you saying that the thought "I want a beer" had no effect on your actions?'
'Of course it didn't,' replied Huxley, as thought the question were idiotic. 'We have thoughts and these often precede actions. But we know full well that these thoughts aren't causing these actions. My body and my brain were already gearing up to order a beer. The thought "I could kill for a beer" was just something that popped into my head as a result of what was happening in the physical brain and body. Thoughts don't cause actions.'
'For Epiphens, maybe,' replied Dirk 'Well I can't see what's different with humans,' said Huxley, and for a while at least, nor could Dirk.