2. We cannot determine precise boundaries around objects that appear to us distinct at our usual level of observation. Distinctions in the natural world are relative rather than absolute.
3. Consequently, the apparent distinction between ourselves and the world is not evident at the sub-atomic level (this is especially so if we take into account quantum non-locality).
4. If we allow that the conscious mind is (at least in part) a product of activity in the brain, and that the brain is composed of the self-same material that constitutes the fabric of the universe, then we accept that the material composition of the mind is continuous with the material around it.
5. If we allow that all structures appearing as objects have indeterminate boundaries, and moreover that in many respects they have no boundaries at all, then objects take on ‘extended’ dimensions, meaning effectively that they occupy an indeterminate (and possibly infinite) portion of space-time. Objects are continuous with what surrounds them.
6. If we accept the above we also have to accept that one of the basic attributes of the conscious mind is that it confers distinctions on the world — it renders the world as a mass of discrete objects.
7. We are so habituated to making distinctions that it seems entirely natural that the world is made up of bounded objects, while at the same time we know that such boundaries are an effect of our perception and cognition, not inherent attributes of the world.
8. The world is not inherently divided; the mind creates divisions; the mind is made from the same substance the world, so the mind is not divided. Yet somehow these divisions come into being (because we are conscious of them — they are real to us), even though there is no material support for them in the fabric of the world.
9. We arrive at a contradictory state of affairs: The world is not divided; the conscious mind is divided; the world and the mind are continuous with one another; it seems divisions do not exist and exist at the same time. Where are these divisions (that give rise to distinct objects)? One can say they exist in the mind, but the mind is made of material devoid of distinctions, including any distinction between itself and the world.
10. The situation can be expressed in the following paradoxical form:
The Paradox of Internalism
Internalists hold that mind and world are distinct because the mind exists in the brain and not in the world.
Yet clearly brains are part of the world (where else could they be?).
So mind and world are continuous.
The Paradox of Externalism
Externalists hold that mind and world are continuous because the mind is not confined to the brain but extends into the world.
Yet clearly minds are conscious while the world is not (otherwise doors would be conscious!),
So mind and world must be distinct.
