Ramachandran TED Video Response

Materialism is the view that everything in this world is one thing, and one thing only--and that is physical. There is no soul and no spirit. We humans are just bodies and nothing more. Materialists argue that although most people think they do have something more than their physical selves, it is only our "material" brains causing those thoughts, when in reality, our minds are purely physical matter sending various signals. The brain chemistry argument for materialism asserts that our "minds" are nothing more than electrochemical systems. Why? Well, it proposes that because of our growing knowledge of the brain and its functions, we now understand that things once thought to be completely psychological, are in fact physiological (having to do with the make-up of our bodies). So, our brains send signals which cause us to feel sad, happy, etc. Thus, the thoughts that we have a soul or spirit are simply results of chemicals reacting with each other.

In Ramachandran's TED video, he gives three examples that support the brain chemistry argument concerning materialism. First, he introduces a condition called Crabgrass syndrome. This syndrome causes an individual to no longer be able to recognize people by their faces. They can still recognize them by their voices--but not the ability to see people by their faces. This happens due to some sort of trauma like a head injury, which causes a certain structure in the brain to malfunction. Because of this, materialists can justify their view, asserting that everything we experience is a result of chemical reactions in the brain. Thus, our bodies are only physical, material--bearing no soul or spirit.

Secondly, Ramachandran gives us yet another scenario that could support the brain chemistry view of materialism--the Phantom Limb syndrome. When someone loses a limb or bodypart, such as an arm or leg, they continue to feel their limb there. Yes, they do realize that they lack a limb, but they can still feel and move around their "phantom limb". In some cases, individuals' "phantom limbs" are clenched and thus, painful. They are unable to relieve the pain because their limb was amputated, severing a particular structure causing this problem. Ramachandran fixed this problem with a patient of his, though, by putting a mirror in front of the other hand, and instructing his patient to move it. Instantly, the patient said that the pain was gone and he could move his "phantom limb". This was because the mirror in a way, tricked the brain structure (or triggered) that controlled the "phantom limb." Again, the brain chemistry argument can use the mind's functions and flaws to support their view that everything is purely physical.

Lastly, he presented the case of synesthesia. This condition causes individuals to associate numbers or letters with certain colors. When they see the number 7, they see pink--this is just an example of what synesthesia would look like. Through research, they found that certain areas of the brain "lighted up" or were very active, showing us that these were the cortexes or areas caused the function/reaction.

In conclusion, all of the examples Ramachandran gave concerning various conditions of the brain such as "Phantom limb" and "Synesthesia", give proponents of the brain chemistry argument a strong case. Since these situations reveal that we experience and function as a result of chemical reactions in the brain, they assert that we are purely physical beings. This supports the materialistic view that we are only material; we have no soul or spirit.