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    Made withinDC&Austin
    Interactionism does not violate the conservation of energ... — Carmelics
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    Home/Consciousness & Mind
    HistoryEditSee Inverse

    Interactionism does not violate the conservation of energy principle

    CausationConsciousness & Mind
    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    2 reasons against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.The conservation of energy principle applies only to causally isolated systems
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    • 2.The interactionist denies that the human body is a causally isolated system
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    • 3.Therefore the conservation principle is irrelevant to evaluating interactionism
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    Reasons Against

    2 perspectives
    Reason against 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.The 'causally isolated system' exemption is a methodological assumption within physics, not a metaphysical loophole available to dualists on demand.
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    • 2.Treating the body as non-isolated requires positing an external energy source, which empirically commits the interactionist to measurable energy inputs with no physical origin.
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    • 3.No such anomalous energy signatures have been detected in neurological systems, making interactionism empirically self-undermining rather than merely conceptually coherent.
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    Reason against 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Huxley, Mach, and the epiphenomenalist tradition argued that conservation laws were precisely what forced the retreat from interactionism to epiphenomenalism in the 19th century.
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    • 2.Dismissing conservation as 'irrelevant' reverses the historical direction of argument without explaining why the scientific consensus that motivated epiphenomenalism was mistaken.
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    • 3.A philosophical position that requires quarantining well-confirmed physical laws from its domain of application bears a substantial burden of justification it has not discharged.
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    Consciousness & MindCausation

    Related

    A philosophical position that requires quarantining well-confirmed physical laws...Dismissing conservation as 'irrelevant' reverses the historical direction of arg...Huxley, Mach, and the epiphenomenalist tradition argued that conservation laws w...No such anomalous energy signatures have been detected in neurological systems, ...
    +5 moreShow less
    The 'causally isolated system' exemption is a methodological assumption within p...The conservation of energy principle applies only to causally isolated systemsThe interactionist denies that the human body is a causally isolated systemTherefore the conservation principle is irrelevant to evaluating interactionismTreating the body as non-isolated requires positing an external energy source, w...

    Similar

    The conservation of energy principle applies only to causally isolated...81%Mind could influence the physical world without violating conservation...77%Ex nihilo creation of matter violates the law of energy conservation.75%A violation of energy conservation requires an external creative cause...73%

    Source

    AI-extracted1/3 agreementValid
    SEP: dualism
    View source passageHide passage
    Even if there is no objection in principle, there appears to be a conflict between interactionism and some basic principles of physical science. For example, if causal power was flowing in and out of the physical system, energy would not be conserved, and the conservation of energy is a fundamental scientific law. Various responses have been made to this. One suggestion is that it might be possible for mind to influence the distribution of energy, without altering its quantity. (See Averill and
    Extraction notes

    Validity: Extracted via Max plan + API grounding/validity checks

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    3 (1 for, 2 against)
    Edits
    1 edit