my philsophical question!
-
bionicrage — 19 years ago(April 14, 2006 11:18 PM)
well that's the thing. Life is life. You should read this book "the selfish gene" by richard dawkins. In my humble opinion, i agree with the premise of the book. We are just dna recepticles, and all it's trying to do is live on. WHich is through procreating with the next set of genes that will insure that. From there you can just look at Evolutionary psychology and ethology, where these scientist study humans/human behaviour like they would any other animal (without any cultural or ideaological interferences). Now of course we are homo saipiens saipiens (wise wise men) so rather then runing around like vessels of unadulterated psychology (animals), these primordeal instincts/survival traits are our foundations, then we have intellect above it, and they both influence each other.
What i can't understand is how people claim some ideaology is "truth", when really you are just born into it, depending on where you live on this earth (wherever your dna ended up). ALso just looking at history/art history and just look at how other beliefs influence/create others. I mean all religions had a begining, so what was "truth" before that? The most predominant religions exist because in their teachings they are "crusading" religions. It's how buddahism came to china, how islam came to parts of africa and spain (moors) and how christianity came to west and south america. -
gnolti — 19 years ago(February 07, 2007 04:37 AM)
Good discussion. Too bad the thread is so neglected.
In response to the OP (if you're still out there): I think AS touches on this idea but also turns it inside out. Jessup regresses, not only to a Cro Magnon or whatever, but ultimately to a shapeless molecular mass and finally to a single undifferentiated cell (a stem cell, I suppose). The point is that he loses his human identity in the process, or at least the dormant "junk" DNA in his cells which is ancient and pre-human become activated and switch off his human identity. And the only way his humanity can be reactivated is through Emily.
"Look what you did to my shirt." -
zero-signal — 13 years ago(October 02, 2012 12:35 AM)
i'm not a believer but i think you have mistaken at one point. Religions didn't "start" at sometime. They say that religion is here because god want human to pull themself together. kind of a warning and manual. they always exists but we moronheads just can't have it so it sent those books
-
Citizenright1 — 19 years ago(February 10, 2007 11:59 PM)
Self awareness counts for everything. It is the whole thing. And, ponder this: "We are all made up of stardust. When you look up into the sky at the stars, realize that you are the universe looking at itself," Carl Sagan.
-
singular_critic — 19 years ago(February 13, 2007 05:36 AM)
I just finished watching the film and as someone interested in 'experiences' I found this film fascinating from the outset.
In the film we are told about the 'unborn soul' and the regression of life.
In the scene where Jessup 'regresses' to a primitive being I got the idea that he had reached a point where the idea of a 'soul' was first 'created'.
There are scenes where Jessup describes the beings he was hallucinating about and he is quite descriptive i.e. 'the didn't use their knuckles to walk' etc. My opinion is that the film was trying to point out that this was a period in the evolution of humans where the idea of a soul and a self awareness was coming about.
Although I enjoyed the film I was still unsure as to Jessup's full intentions towards the end..was he just trying to push the limits of human conscience or was it something more specific.
Discussion would be most welcome
"When all are one and one is all, to be a rock and not to roll.." -
pogostiks — 19 years ago(February 23, 2007 03:07 PM)
You could also ask, "what's the difference between a cell and a finger"?
In fact, very little. But I guess the real difference occurs once there is a brain that's where consciousness comes from. Somehow all the synapses create thoughts, and allow for emotions and a certain understanding of time and sequential consequences. Monkeys already know how to create tools which proves that they have an idea of cause and effect which allows them to project an action into the future. I guess all "higher" animals have a certain consciousness I'm thinking of porpoises, whales, elephants and the great apes.
Perhaps mammals in general? But then, a spider builds a web (like a tool) and must either do it totally instinctively or somehow know that the result will be "dinner".
Don't know if anything I've said here helps, but at least it's worth thinnking about -
tron57 — 19 years ago(March 11, 2007 10:08 AM)
Check out this
http://www.redicecreations.com/specialreports/2006/01jan/holographic.html
page on the theory of the Holographic Universe. It gives a good high level view on the theory and does explain some interesting phenomena one may experience with having an experience and also covers our brains amazing ability to interpret frequency (sound/light/touch/ect) and remember and recall these events immediately even decades later. It's a fascinating read. -
gnolti — 19 years ago(March 12, 2007 04:30 AM)
Fascinating article, tron. ("Holographic universe" will now be part of my vocabulary.) Also very relevant when you note that "holographic" aspects of the isolation tank in the film: it almost becomes an externalization of Jessup's mental lanscape.
1.) The Lord loves a working man.
2.) Don't trust whitey. -
vorpal_man — 19 years ago(February 28, 2007 06:03 PM)
Try tackling "Goedel, Escher, Bach," by Douglas Hofstadter. Hofstadter is knowledgable in several disciplines, with a focus in artificial intelligence. It's a dense read, and long, but you don't have to read it straight through. Find the chapters about the brain and read those. In particular, read the chapter "Ant-eater's Fugue," and the following chapter. The book covers more than your question, but your question is at the heart of it. He's asking, "What is self-awareness? What makes us a self?" It's a beep
-
-
Strazdamonas — 14 years ago(February 19, 2012 12:39 PM)
Aomeba, a single cell organism is self aware and has conciuosness, while being a single cell. It is unknown if it is aware of its conciuosness, jsut like its unknown if, say, bears are. We often call the electronic inpulses in our brran that is what creates the though "soul". it is however in no way similar to what religion wants us to think.
Applied Science? All science is applied. Eventually.