>``It was remarkable,'' recalled Dr. Mark George of the Medical
>University of South Carolina, who performed the experimental
>implant. ``I said, 'Are you being forced to laugh or do you feel
>good inside?' He said both.''
This is very interesting. It clearly demonstrates a startling lack of understanding of the nature of the mind on the part of Dr. George. It also highlights the need for a better language system, a more low level structure that doesn't allow highly ambiguous terms such as "you". So....what was Dr. George asking when he said "Are you being forced to laugh..."? As if any of us consciously decide when we are going to find something funny....As children, we discovered the things that made us laugh, we did not consciously lay down the rules of humour. By applying a stimulus to the associated part of the brain, happiness/laughter or whatever will be generated in the consciousness of the subject, as certain auditory stimuli do the same. There is no "force", this is the way the mind works. I think the problem may rest with the common misconception of "free will" meaning that a human spirit (or whatever) is completely responsible for the self-definition of it's motivations, impulses, or "will". Crap. My intelligence didn't decide to become a genetic being, constantly striving for sex (leads to procreation), food (survival), social contact (social interactions forge advantages in survival) etc. etc....
What do you think?