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Luna's Existential essay


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Let us assume, for a moment, that you and I are identical clones. Then you take clone 1(you) and raise you in the exact environment you were raised. Then Clone 2(me) is raised in the envrionment I had. Would we not get ourselves from the result? And if so, then are we fundmentally any different, or is even our differences in mindsets not a result of the fact that we are a different, individual, unique humans, and more on the fact that we are identical, and we think identically, but we simply raised in different envrionments which create such diversity.

If this is true, than I think it can be hypothesized that Humans can have a sort of default personality from which they drift from as their experiences shape them linearly through time. I think it's also implied that no Human has responsiblity for his or her actions.

It's hard to believe that police man Bob, who decided it was a good idea to make stealing punishable, couldn't be given credit for his idea. If Bob didn't come up with such an idea, than who did? Is it that Bob's a genious, or was he simply at the right place at the right time, and had the right experiences from which guided him to make the right decision? In this way, it isn't Bob who came up with this rule. It's Bob's experiences.

So the question is raised.. who or what is responsible for bob's experiences? Bob's parents? Certainly they have had quite a bit of say in the envrionment from which Bob was raised. But who is reponsible for theirs? I think the answer is culture. Society evolves.

What's most interesting about this little simulation we are imagining, Humans don't have to have thie observer consciousness that exists linearly. I think in our simulation, for that to be perfect, the individual would have to be like a program that runs, and calculates decisions based on certain values likely learned from experiences-- which makes sense to me. So what if it's an illusion? This idea that we are alive "now" in this moment that in reality, we have no control over.

Could it not be assumed that you and I, the observer consciousness, are the same? I like that idea, because then we live inside the consciousness of Humanity, and perhaps everything we know. I realize it's pretty far fetched to believe that we can dissasociate the observer with the Human entity, but then again, the universe I know of has 4 forces, and the ability to observe, deduct, and reason is not a known force.

If we analyzed human form closely,We'd realize that the hand is separate from the mind, removing the hand loses a tool, so how much of the Human body is a tool? Is the brain itself also merely a tool. So we are many seperate things that are working together, yet when we try to think of ourselves using our minds, we can only feel singular. There are known cases of multiple personality disorder, so it's clearly plausible that a second mental entity can coexist within the same body, anc "control" can actually change almost such as a computer booting up to a different OS.

I think who are as an observer consciousness is not the body. The construct our minds have created to tell us about the universe around us depends on a purely physical universe. Due to the fact that the tools that are our brains have only the ability to interface through our senses with the physical universe.

If we erase the idea that we exist in an only physical universe, then it's possible that the observer consciousness is a single entity.

I'm not sure what this implies to be honest, but I think what's for certain is that it's not the individual who shapes Humanity, but the experiences of Humanity as a whole which shape itself. It is my hope to live on in Humanity's legacy in this way. If it is our experiences that shape us, than I want to give Humanity a very big experience that will shape it for the better.

I want to continue working on this business my entire life, and document thoughts on it, growth, and direction. Hopefully some day when we've accomplished a lot, young people will be inspired to likewise dedicate their lives to pursing their dreams. In this way, we as individuals exist forever in Humanity's experiences, and shape it's future. 

Love,

Luna

 

Posts: 3246
Luna's Existential essay

An interesting video about how entangled we are with our experiences:

On the subject of our consciousness being separate from physical reality—what do you think of the fact a person can be made to burst out into laughter by electrode stimulation of the cortex, or feel an elevation of mood from taking antidepressants?

Posts: 2876
Luna's Existential essay

I think it's very obvious our minds are manipulated by our biological machine bodies. Take for instance the way chemicals can shape our actions, thoughts, emotions. 

It's very clear that consciousness is not associated with "happiness". Happiness is a carrot the body uses as a way to manipulate the mind into doing something that evolutionarily benefits it.

Posts: 3246
Luna's Existential essay

Where is the line between the physical happenings of our brains and the consciousness that we experience?

Posts: 505
Luna's Existential essay

Can you rephrase that or add to that, Tryp? ^

Posts: 3246
Luna's Existential essay

In other words, what is the difference between the conscious experience and the physical happenings of the brain?

Posts: 505
Luna's Existential essay

Ok. You just said the same thing twice. :)

If I understand you, I think your brain controls all your conscious experiences. So If you are Schizophrenic, you behave on way. I you are not, you behave another.

If you have encephalitis, you act delirious and can have seizures, etc.

Our brain completely controls our conscious experiences. IMHO 

 

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Luna's Existential essay

That's what I believe as well. What I wanted to find out with my question posed to Luna was if she believed there was any evidence that would refute that idea.

Posts: 505
Luna's Existential essay

I see. :)

Posts: 2876
Luna's Existential essay

I'd say that line exists somewhere between the information our brain holds, and the observer aware of it. It's been said that we are like the passenger seat navigator in a vehicle. It's our job to watch the map, and scream directions. This individual... this identity.. is just that. It's an identity based on data the mind holds. This identity can clearly be manipulted.

What this means is that when we consider ourselves, we cannot consider how we look, how we feel. If someone is extremely ugly, then naturally when we meet them, we might expect them to by shy, and insecure, and defensive. They could also be funny, and decide to adopt a mindset that places low values on extern beauty. In this way, personality isn't as unique as we think.

I think that if we are to assume that consciousness is more than just a machine, it must be that the universe is a result of consciousness. I'm not sure how that can be proven. I think there is evidence. Some evidence, for example, is the idea that the universe had a beginning. There is very clear evidence that this universe has rules. It's extremely organized. It's a universe of chaos in a very predictable manner.

It's almost as if it was a program. This little piece of matter was dropped into existance, and almost immediatley, when it met this new envrionment, the force broke down into 4 seperate forces, and as a result of this, a chain reaction of events of cause and effect have been occuring over the last 14 billion years. 

If this is true, than the universe is.... a simulation. You could run it over and over, and it would be exactly the same. There are some problems though. Who or what dropped what was to become the big bang into place? The arguement completely breaks apart.

All arguements of logic break apart when we consider the universe. When we consider that the photon doesn't exist in time. That the distance between two points for a photon is always 0 relative to that photon. When we consider that gravity has no boundry to it's pull due to the fact that it's guage bosons have no mass, what we're really discovering is that the universe is much less a chaotic random envrionment that has always existed, and more so... like a computer program which has just begun running through it's sequences. The program has set variables, and it's able to ignore concepts such as distance, time, etc.

I choose to believe that the universe is a result of consciousness. That we are more than it seems. That our ability to manipulate this universe to our will isn't because we hopped down from the trees and grew a bigger brain, but rather because our consciousness shapes Humanity, and perhaps even helps us direct our own evolution in certain ways.

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