Thread: Why Evolution Contradicts Materialism; also talk about Religion

What is meant by material? Scale down to the subatomic level and we find that wood and metal are of the same energy. Atoms are mostly empty space so we look at the nuclei for anything concrete about reality. But then we find that even the nuclei is made of bundles of energy, which are invisible forces pushing and pulling but we don't know what's pushing and pulling. Even physicists acknowledge that it's like a Cheshire cat grinning.

Daniel Dennett once said that in order to have an explanation of consciousness we must start with unconscious elements in order to comprehend its birth. The trouble is that when dealing with consciousness, we are dealing with the unborn; we are dealing with a fundamental phenomenon. Consciousness cannot be reduced to anything that, according to materialism, is more than itself. You can find neurons in reality but you can't find consciousness because it is a first-person ontology.

Also, by Dennett's logic, in order to have an explanation for physical reality (whatever we mean by physical) one must start from the opposite, which would be immaterialism, i.e. idealism. The substrate of reality then, is not nothing (as this one cannot exist by definition). We do know of something which is not nothing but also cannot be defined in terms of objects or materials: consciousness.

It was a pleasure to be joined by Dr. Richard Oxenberg to discuss his Essentia Foundation article entitled 'Why evolutionary theory contradicts materialism'. We also cover metaphysical idealism, teleology, religion, hermeneutics, the concept of God, lucid dreaming, consciousness exploration, the numinous, transpersonal experiences, NDEs and even speculate about the afterlife.

Richard received his ph.D in Philosophy from Emory University in 2002, with a concentration in Ethics and Philosophy of Religion. He has taught Philosophy and general Humanities at Boston University, Salem State University, and Emerson College. He currently teaches at Endicott College in Beverley, Massachusetts. His book, 'On the Meaning of Human Being: Heidegger and the Bible in Dialogue' was published by Political Animal Press in 2018. Richard specialises in theology, phenomenology, hermeneutics, ancient philosophy, ontology, and applied ethics.

https://youtu.be/uULln7wurgM?si=j0xAeCheQfBqu6VF