Sam Harris on Buddhism

[gregkavarnos]

It is easily accomplished in the dream state where a whole dualistic environment is created and upheld by mind without any active external sense input.

Good point. But I beg to differ, you see there is brain activity during sleep (ie it has been measured) and we do actually react to external sense input during our sleep: sounds, smells, tactile sensations, tastes, sights (mainly levels of light).

believe it is only the most severe cases of coma that show no brain activity. I believe some people have emerged from long comas, with intact memories of all the conversations that took place in their room. Want me to dig up some references?

No thank you, now that you mention it I remembered that I had heard about these sort of accounts before.

But my point is that in the cases where there is no measurable brain activity, but a recovery, then any accounts of mind processes during the period of coma would be clear proof that the mind is not based solely on brain function.

[catmoon]

But my point is that in the cases where there is no measurable brain activity, but a recovery, then any accounts of mind processes during the period of coma would be clear proof that the mind is not based solely on brain function.

Have there been such cases? I'm thinking, doctors are so completely sure that such a patient (zero brain activity) will never recover that they feel morally ok with unplugging the machines, even though life expectancy might be measured in decades. I would think that a single case of recovery from zero brain activity would completely upend this established practice.