Newguest“
“you might as well assert that numbers emerge from biscuits or ethics from
rhubarb” as suggest that the “soggy clump of matter” which is the brain produces
consciousness.
”
No mistake here. First, let's be sure you understand the "might as well" structure.
You might as well do this as do that.
The sentence above suggests that doing this and doing that are almost equivalent.
______________
Likewise,
You might as well
assert that numbers emerge from biscuits
or (assert that) ethics (emerges) from rhubarb
as
suggest that the "soggy clump of matter"
[which is (another name for) the brain]
produces consciousness.
________
So, asserting that numbers emerge from biscuits is almost equivalent to suggesting that the brain produces consciousness. The implication is this: If you are silly enough to believe that the brain produces consciousness, you probably believe other ridiculous things, like that numbers emerge from biscuits.
______
Does that make more sense now? Let me know if you need more help on this. Once you understand it, you might want to consider whether you agree with it! There is some tricky logic there, in my opinion, and perhaps a bigger claim than anyone has evidence for!
CJ