﻿152 
  JOURNAL 
  OF 
  THE 
  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  VOL. 
  12, 
  NO. 
  G 
  

  

  consciousness 
  is 
  correlated 
  point 
  for 
  point 
  with 
  certain 
  physical 
  struc- 
  

   tures 
  and 
  processes 
  occurring 
  within 
  a 
  very 
  restricted 
  portion 
  of 
  your 
  

   physical 
  system 
  which 
  you 
  call 
  my 
  brain 
  process. 
  This 
  physical 
  

   brain 
  process 
  of 
  course 
  you 
  cannot 
  for 
  a 
  moment 
  conceive 
  to 
  exist 
  

   apart 
  from 
  your 
  own 
  consciousness 
  and 
  even 
  here 
  it 
  will 
  ordinarily 
  

   have 
  only 
  symbolic 
  or 
  logical 
  existence 
  ; 
  you 
  think, 
  talk 
  and 
  write 
  

   about 
  it 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  but, 
  except 
  in 
  the 
  rare 
  instances 
  where 
  you 
  happen 
  

   to 
  be 
  a 
  brain 
  surgeon 
  and 
  I 
  happen 
  unfortunately 
  to 
  be 
  your 
  patient, 
  

   you 
  never 
  come 
  anywhere 
  near 
  seeing 
  it. 
  But 
  even 
  if 
  you 
  were 
  actually 
  

   to 
  perceive 
  my 
  brain 
  process 
  in 
  all 
  of 
  its 
  molecular 
  detail 
  you 
  would 
  

   not 
  dare 
  to 
  affirm 
  its 
  external 
  reality 
  any 
  more 
  as 
  a 
  system 
  of 
  C. 
  G. 
  S. 
  

   quantities 
  than 
  as 
  an 
  arrangement 
  of 
  color 
  surfaces 
  in 
  space. 
  Yet 
  

   you 
  do 
  believe 
  firmly 
  that 
  your 
  conception 
  of 
  the 
  structures 
  and 
  proc- 
  

   esses 
  of 
  my 
  brain 
  does, 
  like 
  the 
  remainder 
  of 
  your 
  conceived 
  physical 
  

   universe, 
  correspond 
  with 
  some 
  reality 
  external 
  to 
  your 
  experience 
  

   the 
  logical 
  constitution 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  closely 
  similar 
  to 
  that 
  of 
  your 
  

   physical 
  scheme. 
  

  

  Under 
  these 
  circumstances 
  can 
  you 
  not 
  most 
  assuredly 
  be 
  convicted 
  

   of 
  intellectual 
  incapacity 
  if 
  you 
  do 
  not 
  recognize 
  in 
  my 
  consciousness 
  

   itself 
  a 
  perfectly 
  good 
  reality 
  which 
  may 
  constitute 
  the 
  actual 
  meaning 
  

   of 
  your 
  physical 
  symbol 
  called 
  a 
  brain 
  process? 
  In 
  your 
  ultimate 
  

   philosophy 
  of 
  physical 
  science 
  you 
  affirm 
  that 
  all 
  of 
  your 
  physical 
  

   equations 
  stand 
  in 
  point 
  to 
  point 
  correspondence 
  with 
  an 
  unknown 
  

   reality. 
  In 
  your 
  interpretation 
  of 
  the 
  data 
  of 
  psychophysiology 
  you 
  

   affirm 
  in 
  the 
  doctrine 
  of 
  the 
  parallelism 
  between 
  consciousness 
  and 
  

   the 
  brain 
  process 
  that 
  my 
  individual 
  experience 
  stands 
  in 
  exactly 
  

   this 
  relation 
  to 
  a 
  certain 
  part 
  of 
  your 
  physical 
  system. 
  Why, 
  then, 
  

   should 
  you 
  not 
  admit 
  that 
  my 
  experience 
  is 
  the 
  reality 
  towards 
  which 
  

   this 
  particular 
  section 
  of 
  your 
  physical 
  system 
  has 
  always 
  been 
  point- 
  

   ing? 
  

  

  This 
  is 
  a 
  doctrine 
  which 
  is 
  easily 
  heard 
  but 
  which 
  is 
  very 
  difficult 
  

   to 
  see. 
  It 
  rhymes 
  with 
  the 
  evidence, 
  but 
  yet 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  conflict 
  too 
  

   much 
  with 
  common 
  sense; 
  with 
  common 
  sense 
  physics 
  and 
  with 
  

   common 
  sense 
  psychology. 
  We 
  have 
  too 
  long 
  considered 
  mind 
  and 
  

   matter 
  to 
  be 
  two 
  irreconcilably 
  disparate 
  but 
  nevertheless 
  interacting 
  

   entities; 
  matter 
  a 
  substance 
  and 
  mind 
  an 
  intangible 
  activity. 
  Now 
  

   we 
  are 
  required 
  to 
  treat 
  mind 
  as 
  if 
  it 
  were 
  a 
  substance 
  and 
  to 
  identify 
  

   it 
  with 
  the 
  reality 
  of 
  matter. 
  The 
  doctrine 
  is 
  apt 
  to 
  cause 
  much 
  con- 
  

   fusion 
  in 
  our 
  thoughts 
  because 
  it 
  turns 
  all 
  of 
  our 
  old 
  mental 
  furniture 
  

  

  