“A thought-provoking hypothesis” says expert
Cognitive scientist and philosopher, Lieutenant Colonel Dr William Casebeer, gave evidence today in biologist Jeremy Griffith and mountaineer Tim Macartney-Snape’s defamation trial against the ABC and the Reverend David Millikan.
In his tendered report, Dr Casebeer reviewed the central hypotheses of Mr Griffith’s thesis set out in his second book Beyond The Human Condition and explained why he considered it both scholarly and scientific.
“That a conflict could arise between instinct and the intellect is a familiar idea from the evolutionary sciences—ethologists and evolutionary psychologists alike would find this familiar,” he wrote.
“The holism discussed in the chapter on the relationship between science and religion is now a mainstay in sciences that study complexity and emergent properties and phenomena,” he added.
Dr Casebeer’s report went on to say that Mr Griffith made several original claims in the book, including “a thought-provoking hypothesis about the origins of human angst from the process of empathy-related indoctrination and learning that is unique and interesting”.
“Mr Griffith’s book is provocative and well-written, and surfaces a large number of important issues in an intelligent manner…the issues it is grappling with are too important to reject out of hand,” his report concluded.
The Court heard Dr Casebeer criticise several aspects of a report filed for the defendants by Australian primatologist Colin Groves as being “unscientific”. He said Professor Groves had conflated the three senses that describe human consciousness: phenomenal consciousness, self awareness and theory of mind.
Under cross-examination by counsel for the defendants, Dr Casebeer maintained his view of the scientific substance of Mr Griffith’s theories.
Dr Casebeer is the fourth international scientific expert to take the stand in defence of the scientific and scholarly standard of Mr Griffith’s work, following evidence earlier in the trial from anthropologist Professor Walter Hartwig, psychologist Professor Scott Churchill and psychiatrist Professor Harry Prosen.
Earlier in the day, the plaintiffs tendered copies of two speeches by Sir James Darling, the former headmaster of Geelong Grammar School and former chairman of the ABC, including ‘Looking Beneath the Surface of Things’ and ‘The Education of a Civilized Man’.
Mr Macartney-Snape described how those speeches influenced him in the preparation of his 1993 speech day address at Geelong Grammar School.
“Dr Darling, as Mr Griffith pointed out, had identified all the elements required to get to the bottom of the human condition. Not only had the person approaching the problem to be sensitive and tough, they needed to take a teleological approach and had to reconcile science and religion.
“Remarkably he even identified the root cause of the human condition…the conflict between instinct and intellect,” he added.
The case continues tomorrow in the Supreme Court.
For biographical information on Dr William Casebeer, view www.humancondition.info/casebeer.
