What Are We?


Dglgmut

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What, is objectivism's slogan: Why wonder about anything? It'll only make your head hurt.

What about self-esteem and all that?

We should avoid mysticism and spirituality? We don't even know how we can think.

How can someone criticize mysticism and then say, "There are some things we simply can't know."

Is that reasonable?

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What, is objectivism's slogan: Why wonder about anything? It'll only make your head hurt.

What about self-esteem and all that?

We should avoid mysticism and spirituality? We don't even know how we can think.

How can someone criticize mysticism and then say, "There are some things we simply can't know."

Is that reasonable?

Mysticism is just making shit up it's not trying to understand anything. So what if you you don't know how you think? We don't know how or why gravity works either but it's measurable, we can calculate and predict its effects over billions of light years. Grow up please.

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But questioning existence itself is obviously pointless, right? Not whether or not it exists, but how it does... And the same for our own existence.

That's not interesting to anyone here? That we don't know HOW we exist? But gravity is interesting???

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You simply don't have enough information to answer your own question, just like we don't have enough information to completely explain what gravity is or how it works. Doesn't mean your life stops or is meaningless. And yes, gravity is very, very interesting. A lot more interesting than questioning the fact of your own existence. You don't question the fact that gravity exists do you? How many cliffs have you jumped off lately?

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Existence exists. The fact that you're aware of existence means you're alive. Knowing why would entail answering all of the big unanswered questions; was there a "Big Bang"? Is so, what was there before? What is gravity? How did life start? You think there's this big important problem, everyone's ignoring it: no. Lots of other questions have to be answered first. Take care of the little things, like gravity. Then go from there.

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Mind(ing) is one of the things the brain does. Ba'al Chatzaf

All we have is our memories and our senses. Everything else is us; singular and non-physical.

Each of "us" is a collection of molecules changing over time.

Ba'al Chatzaf

And the point of this observation is...?

I love to tell the truth at least once a day.

Ba'al Chatzaf

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Existence exists. The fact that you're aware of existence means you're alive. Knowing why would entail answering all of the big unanswered questions; was there a "Big Bang"? Is so, what was there before? What is gravity? How did life start? You think there's this big important problem, everyone's ignoring it: no. Lots of other questions have to be answered first. Take care of the little things, like gravity. Then go from there.

I don't think it's wrong to explore reality! I think it's great... but it's nothing more than a way to pass the time. You should find out all you can about the universe, if that's what you find interesting...

But this thread is not about the universe, or what we experience... it's about what experiences. If you don't find that interesting, fine, but I don't see what's wrong with wondering about that kind of stuff.

Is it a waste of time? Is talking about gravity a much better use of time? Should understanding the universe take priority over understanding myself?

Hmm... another question: How could we possibly care about something other than ourselves?

Here's an example:

If a blind man was an amazing painter, is it possible for him to want to paint a picture he would never see, if he knew nobody else would ever see it either?

If it is entirely wasteful, how could he possibly want to paint it? If there's no joy from the experience itself, and no result to be appreciated...

I think we definitely do see ourselves in others... I just can't imagine a completely selfless action.

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"Seeing Voices" by Oliver Sacks I found was very interesting from the point of view of how consciousness develops when we acquire language. There are a couple of examples about very intelligent deaf people who describe the differences in their perceptions and thinking after learning to read and sign later in their lives. You might get some insights from this book. Somewhere, perhaps on this site, perhaps on RoR, is a review by Ted Keer which is excellent.

We are not what we could be.

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It had some good reviews on amazon. I'll have to add it to my list.

We are not what we could be? As in, we generally don't live up to our potential?

Progress is such a dominant theme in society... What are we trying to achieve, and why?

The most any individual can hope to achieve is to affect the experiences of others. All the recent inventions: iPad's and smartphones and all that; they are achievements only because people like them.

Being funny is such a desirable trait, isn't it? Most people would love to be able to make people laugh...

Intentionally making someone laugh is probably the truest display of power. Anyone can pull a trigger, or whatever else we might associated with power...

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It had some good reviews on amazon. I'll have to add it to my list.

We are not what we could be? As in, we generally don't live up to our potential?

Progress is such a dominant theme in society... What are we trying to achieve, and why?

The most any individual can hope to achieve is to affect the experiences of others. All the recent inventions: iPad's and smartphones and all that; they are achievements only because people like them.

Being funny is such a desirable trait, isn't it? Most people would love to be able to make people laugh...

Intentionally making someone laugh is probably the truest display of power. Anyone can pull a trigger, or whatever else we might associated with power...

Potential: We don't know what our potential is. I don't think a single human being has been raised up from infancy under ideal conditions. I don't know what those conditions are. But they wouldn't include being filled full of a lot of misinformation and bullshit about everything under the sun.

What are we trying to achieve? Thriving, knowledge, a sense of wonder. Mastery of all the forces of nature, long lives, but not without risks and the rewards of overcoming challenges.

I don't relate to this: "The most any individual can hope to achieve is to affect the experiences of others. All the recent inventions: iPad's and smartphones and all that; they are achievements only because people like them." Achieving a sense of wonder works for me. Watching a mockingbirds aerial gymnastics gives me chills down my spine. I don't need anyone else around to experience that.

The only person I can make laugh is my wife. I guess that gives me the power to keep her around. Works for me.

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