Each of the following is intended to be a refutation by logical analogy. Identify the argument being
Question:
Each of the following is intended to be a refutation by logical analogy. Identify the argument being refuted in each and the refuting analogy, and decide whether they do indeed have the same argument form.
The distinguished naturalist E. O. Wilson argues that humans are no more than a biological species of a certain physical composition, and that the human mind can have no characteristics attributable to nonphysical causes. This claim can no longer be disputed. “Virtually all contemporary scientists and philosophers expert on the subject agree [he writes] that the mind, which comprises consciousness and rational process, is the brain at work. . . . The brain and its satellite glands have now been probed to the point where no particular site remains that can reasonably be supposed to harbor a nonphysical mind.” 16 Stephen Barr presented the following counterargument in the form of a logical analogy: “This [Wilson’s argument quoted above] is on a par with Nikita Khrushchev’s announcement [aiming to support atheism] that Yuri Gagarin, the first human visitor to space, had failed to locate God. Does Wilson suppose that if there were an immaterial component to the mind it would show up in a brain scan?”17
Step by Step Answer:
Introduction To Logic
ISBN: 9781138500860
15th Edition
Authors: Irving M. Copi, Carl Cohen, Victor Rodych