Bernard Shaw's Remarkable Religion: A Faith That Fits the Facts

The Marriage of Science and Religion 229
what we call matter, all matter must have the potential, in some fashion, to
produce mind. The differences that constitute matter are differences of
time and space, but that does not mean that only such differences exist. If
a completely color-blind person, one who perceives only light and dark,
looks at our computer monitor, he would not see all of the “differences”
associated with each pixel, but they would exist nonetheless. It is certainly
possible that the differences of consciousness—color, sound, and other
sensations—exist in some presently unimaginable fashion throughout the
universe. What would appear to distinguish mind as we think of it is the
element of unity: the bonding together of differences into awareness.
Something more is needed as well. The structure of awareness must be
meaningful; it must be such as to permit choice: meaningful action. It is of
utmost significance that the bulk of the awareness our bodies provide for us
is a model of the outside world, for that is a way of extending awareness
beyond its “natural” boundaries. The brain, by creating a model of the external
world, allows organisms to extend their “wills” into their environment.
We do not then have to assume that the consciousness of our bodies is
limited to our brains. When the two hemispheres of the brain have been
surgically separated for extreme medical reasons, studies of the patients
suggest that two conscious entities are thereby created, each unaware of
the other. A single body can thus contain more than a single consciousness.
If teleological behavior is, as it seems to be, a trait in varying degrees of all
living things, it follows that some degree of consciousness is to be expected
in all life forms, including single-celled organisms. If that is the case, then
it is not unlikely that there are independent pockets of consciousness
throughout our bodies, all contributing to its proper functioning. The Life
Force, the Will as a general principle of the universe, would indeed be, as
Shaw insisted, the most important force in the cosmos. It would also be
subject to analysis and scientific study. What is needed is for scientists to
acknowledge that the question exists, to begin trying to understand the
mind on its own terms, rather than vainly attempting to deny its existence.
The Repatriation of the Mind
More than sixty years ago the noted physicist Sir James Jeans wrote:
To-day there is a wide measure of agreement, which on the physical
side of science approaches almost to unanimity, that the stream of
knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality; the universe