Evidence of our Transphysical Soul

1. Evidence of our Transphysical Soul Responding to the Myth of Materialism

2. Part 1 Origins of Cosmos, Life, and Consciousness

3. Cosmological Timescale • The Earth – 4.54B • Oldest meteorites • Oldest earth rocks • Oldest fossils Our Sun – 4.6B • Inferred from evidence for age of earth • The Universe – 13.8B • Big bang • Speeds &distances of galaxies • Age of oldest stars

4. Dating Geological and Biological Events Before examining the history of life on earth let’s review the methods used to date fossils and prehistoric events. Source: NASA

5. Absolute Dating Methods • Radiometric (Over 40 different methods including carbon-14, potassium-argon, and uranium series). • Electron (Thermo-luminescence, optically stimulated luminescence, and electron spin resonance). • Annual layering methods (Tree rings, ice cores, sediment layers).   • Paleomagnetism. • Biochronology. • Molecular clock.

6. Relative Dating • Stratigraphy • Based on well established laws dating back to 1669. • Nicholas (Niels) Steno (1638-1686) founder. • Index fossils • Fossils that are known to only occur within a very specific age range (e.g., Trilobite) • Used to correlate age of rock strata. • Grand Canyon Wall Cutaway

7. Appearance of Life to Hominins • Earliest life – 4.1 to 3.5 BYA • Cambrian explosion - 542 MYA • Ardipithecus ramidus – 4.4 MYA • Australopithecus (Lucy) – 3.2 MYA Lucy fossil inventory Source: Wikipedia

8. Anatomically Modern Humans • Oldestmodern fossils are the Omo remains, found in modern-day East Africa, which date to 195,000 years ago. • Homo sapiens idaltu is the name given to 160,000-year-old hominid fossils found in 1997 in Herto Bouri, Ethiopia. Homo sapiens idaltu skull Source: Wikipedia

9. Behaviorally Modern Humans • Behavior includes language, the capacity for abstract thought, and the use of symbolism to express cultural creativity. • Inferred from advances in tools, weapons, jewelry, cave art and other artifacts. • Most widely held perspective is that the first behaviorally modern humans lived in Africa 50,000–70,000 years ago. Paleolithic Cave Art of Northern Spain

10. The Intellectual Explosion Starting at around 70,000 years ago six events happened without genetic, biological, or anthropological explanation: Human beings develop syntactical language & symbols. Human migrations out of Africa to whole world. Humans have interest in religion and burying dead. Human beings have interest in abstract art (on cave walls). Human beings develop abstract numeration and math. Human beings have interest in law and legal systems. Let’s take a closer look at the first two events…

11. Syntactical Language – “Merge” • The communications explosion. • A new hierarchical approach to language that Berwick and Chomsky call “merge”. • Universal grammar = same hierarchical language skills common globally. • Small steps of evolution cannot explain the sudden appearance of merge • It is not simply cranial capacity (Neanderthals had bigger brains), but the capacity to grasp complex syntactical patterns. • Not possible to attribute solely to some sort of genetic switch.

12. Populating the Earth - Two Alternative Explanations • Much stronger evidence for replacement model (i.e. African dispersion to rest of world). • Only Homo Sapiens Sapiens fossils found outside of Africa older than 60,000 years were in Israel. • Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosome DNA trace back to Africa. Chart - http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_4.htm

13. Part 1 Summary • Much has been learned about the timescales and methodology of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution. • There still are major unresolved questions regarding origins, including the origin of consciousness. • Archaeological evidence indicates a sudden and rapid ascent in human intellectual capacity approximately 70,000 years ago.

14. Part 2 Evidence for a Transphysical Soul

15. Five Indications of our Transphysical Soul • Medical studies of Near-death experiences. • Five transcendental desires—from Plato to Lonergan. • Heuristic notions, conceptual ideas, and the Syntax Test. • The hard problem of consciousness – Chalmers. • Gödel’s theorem.

16. Near-Death Experiences • Recent Peer Reviewed Medical Studies • Samuel Parnia, M.D., et al - South Hampton University Study 2014. • Pim van Lommel, M.D., et al - LancetStudy 2001 • Kenneth Ring. Ph. D., et al – NDEs and the Blind 1999 • Janice Holden, Ph.D., - Combined Veridical Study – 2007 Journal of Near Death Studies (International Association of Near Death Studies) http://iands.org/research/publications/journal-of-near-death-studies.html

17. Near-Death Experiences - What Happens? • Clinical data—flat EEG, fixed pupils • Transphysical soul-body • Can see, hear, and voluntarily move • Can remember, and recall past memories • Self-conscious, functional intelligence, emotions • Physical body stays in the physical world—reporting data. • Transphysical body transported to a heavenly domain.

18. Near-Death Experiences - Veridical data • Accurate reporting of verifiable data during clinical death. • 80% of blind people see during clinical death. • Reports from a domain beyond the physical universe. (e.g. the loving white light and deceased relatives). • The absence of death anxiety.

19. Five Transcendental Desires We have a desire for perfect: Truth Love Justice/Goodness Beauty Home/Being

20. Five Transcendental Desires • How the argument works • We can recognize every imperfection in T, L, J-G, B & H • How could we recognize every imperfection in T, L, J-G, B & H unless we had at least a tacit awareness of what perfect T, L, J-G, B & H is like? • Where did we get our tacit awareness of perfect T, L, J-G, B & H from? Cause must be commensurate with its effect. • Therefore, we must have connection with • perfect T, L, J-G, B & H.

21. Conceptual Ideas and Heuristic Notions • Perceptual vs. conceptual ideas—latter can be used as objects, predicates, and categories. • Conceptual ideas are relational—requiring heuristic notions to organize • Heuristic notions are highest conceptual ideas—and cannot be learned from external world without using the very thing learned—vicious circle—therefore, innate. • Where did innate heuristic notions come from?

22. The Hard Problem of Consciousness We experience ourselves experiencing— and we are aware of our awareness. No other species in the animal kingdom has this (Herbert Terrace). Physical processes cannot replicate this. (David Chalmers Why? The same reality is in two different positions with respect to itself at the same time. This transcends classical, relativistic, and quantum physics.

23. Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem We can recognize problems in algorithms and correct them without making recourse to them. Therefore, we must be aware of higher mathematical formulizations than are in any other previous set of algorithms. No artificial intelligence (computer) can do this—they are dependent o formulizations, rules and algorithms given to them. Human mathematical intellection is transphysical.

24. Part 2 Summary • We looked at five arguments for a transphysical soul. • Medical studies of Near-death experiences. • Five transcendental desires—from Plato to Lonergan. • Heuristic notions, conceptual ideas, and the Syntax Test. • The hard problem of consciousness – Chalmers. • Gödel’s theorem. • Taken individually any one of these provides solid evidence. • As a group they strongly infer the reality of a transphysical soul. • Particularly when you combine them with the origin of consciousness material from section 1.

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