FLRW wrote:
The statement that neural activity is generated by thoughts is considered incorrect or a reversal of causality in neuroscience.
Then why did you argue otherwise?
I don’t think this assertion came from studying neuroscience, it appears to be a statement of faith.
Thoughts are the subjective experience or emergent property of electrochemical neural activity, not the external cause that initiates it.
Thoughts are an external cause? Where do they come from then? Are you saying there is some kind of external entity that is doing the thinking?
Neural Activity Precedes Thought: Every neuron’s activity is the result of inputs from other cells, sensory stimuli,
That would be an internal cause, not an external cause.
or spontaneous internal processes.
Are you saying you have no volitional control over your thoughts? They just happen?
Are you making an arguing for determinism?
These electrochemical signals are the thoughts, rather than being caused by them.
Our state of conscious awareness is a feature that trumps all others in the matter of epistemic authority, and we are intrinsically aware that consciousness is an active force that we can exert upon the universe.
Consciousness has this causal influence due to its content, not solely because of the physical aspects of its neural correlates. A continuous conscious state includes desires or intentions; it includes the ability to envision a future state and establish a strategy for attaining that state. That makes it more than a purely physical state, it is a conscious state with reference to a future possibility, and no such reference is part of any purely physical state. The self can exert the force of consciousness to some effect in the material world; such conscious states can have causal effects to bring about further states for the sake of values and purposes. Intents, values, and purposes are not reducible to a purely physical state unless one attributes consciousness to the constituent matter itself; consequently, they exist as properties of a consciousness which clearly entails a distinct ontological existence apart from its constituent material components.
Emergent Property: Thoughts emerge from the complex interaction of billions of neurons firing in specific patterns. There is no "pure thought" that exists outside of this physical brain activity to trigger it.
There you go again, placing thought outside somewhere, where exactly?
Spontaneous Activation: A significant portion of brain activity is endogenous (internal)
Brain activity happens in the brain, got it. I suppose that’s why they call it “brain” activity.
and spontaneous,
Whoa, are you saying it’s magic? It just happens spontaneously? Cool.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression that “cause and effect” were kind of a big deal in science.
driven by the brain's intrinsic functional architecture and memory associations, rather than being solely triggered by conscious thoughts.
If all you are saying is that thoughts have neural correlates, well duh. I’m not aware of anyone in the field that doesn’t accept that. I’m pretty well studied on the subject, but I’ve never come across this idea that all brain activity is conscious thoughts. Instead, the evidence shows that there is unconscious activity, visceral reactions, background processing, pattern recognition, and learned skills (Can you walk, ride a bike, did you learn your multiplication tables?).
There are older brain systems whose activity occurs well below the level of awareness which are directly involved in the orientation of the thinking processes, they are known to exhort the brain to think in certain ways.
I think your argument is confusing at best, and even if it wasn't, I don't see what it has to do with the question of “Evidence of the afterlife”.