I discussed in one previous post the debates over whether science and the philosophy of scientific materialism are sufficient to explain the universe and our presence as conscious beings in it. Alternatively, is there a need for “something more” that deals specifically with consciousness? A significant percentage of scientists believe that “something more” is needed, and there is even one Association of “postmaterialist” scientists. But a large number of scientists, perhaps even the majority, still believe that materialism is enough, and if there is something that is not explained now, then it will be in the future (this is called “promising materialism”).
David Gibbs, Md, was one such scientist and his entertaining memoir The death of materialism describes his journey from skepticism to faith.
Dr. Gibbs has many years of experience in emergency medicine. He describes himself as a supporter of hard science and materialism. While studying medicine, he came across troubling concepts like “consciousness collapses the wave” in quantum mechanics, but he didn’t have time for it. The priority was to learn enough to get into medical school. As he put it, he classified anomalies as “not relevant to.” MCAT He then studied diligently in medical school and endured the rigors of an internship and residency that solidified his skepticism. But his emergency medicine practice has had some troubling intangible experiences over the years. A fascinating example was what it was like to work as part of a team trying to save the life of someone in cardiac arrest. The team is in a frenzy, trying different things like defibrillation and medication. Sometimes the patient could not be saved, and there always seemed to be a moment when the team intuitively recognized it, that moment came before The instruments show things like a flat line on an EKG.
Another example was a time when a patient appeared to be doing well based on the routine examination and tests that any doctor would perform based on symptoms. Dr. Gibbs was about to release him, but “something didn’t feel right” and he ordered an additional CT scan, which is not standard procedure in this case. Results showed the patient required emergency surgery and likely would have died if discharged. In both cases, where did this intuition come from?
Finally there were enough examples like this and Dr. Gibbs was motivated to pursue research into unexplained phenomena such as psi (formerly called ESP) and the placebo effect. His skepticism accompanied him on this odyssey, but he nevertheless noted that there are phenomena that cannot be explained by materialism, for which the probability of being caused by chance is very small (as in one in a trillion). For example, there are placebo-like examples of cures caused by belief in a treatment, with cure rates exceeding those of FDA-approved drugs. Eventually enough of these undeniable anomalies accumulated and he came to the conclusion that scientific materialism was missing something. The rest of the story was about how this affected how he practices and lives his life. A highly recommended read.
As for the subtitle, like I did in mine previous post on this topicPanpsychism is one of several alternative theories that attempt to explain what materialism cannot. Which theory works in detail and best fits reality is currently controversial. But I think it’s less about which explanation makes the most sense to us and more about how putting that belief into practice positively changes our lives. This is explained in the last part of the book by Dr. Gibbs treated well.
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I am a mechanical engineer, born in 1953, Ph.D., Stanford, 1980. I have been working in the mechanical CAE field for decades. I also have a lifelong interest in outdoor activities and fitness. Due to a genetic condition, I had both hips and a heart valve replaced. This blog chronicles my adventures in staying active despite these bumps in the road.
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