Q&A: The Soul and the Human Brain
The Soul and the Human Brain
Question
I heard lectures by the Rabbi in which he describes that the soul can choose to direct the body, but that in most cases the body acts on its own and the soul can impose a veto on decisions that the body wants to make.
I would like to propose a theory that the human brain is essentially a computerized machine-learning system that keeps developing all the time in accordance with the choices I make over the course of life, and each choice affects the system of algorithms in the brain so that it can function independently without the soul’s constant intervention, with the goal of predicting what the soul would have chosen if it had been in control at that moment.
That would create a situation in which a person can drive a car and make quick decisions according to what is happening around him in a completely effective and autonomous way, while the soul is off reflecting or enjoying music or a lecture. And we also see that the same person does not remember at all what exactly happened during that drive, since his consciousness was elsewhere and let the brain function on autopilot.
And perhaps this also explains the saying of the Sages that one commandment leads to another commandment: the more you choose consciously in a positive direction, the more the machine-learning system develops in that direction, and that will become the body’s natural tendency to perform actions in a positive direction without the intervention of the soul.
Is that what the Rabbi meant, or is this a different theory from the Rabbi’s?
Answer
You are describing processes in which there are our choices, but for some reason the framework is deterministic (machine learning is a deterministic process). So I did not understand your description.
I do not remember having said such a thing, but in any case I do not see any connection between it and what you are proposing. All you are proposing is a mode of operation, but it has no connection to the question of whether we have free choice or not, and whether this is done in the brain or in the soul. That is a separate question.