41–50 of 94 posts
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IANAP but as far as I understand, neither time nor space are believed to be discrete in the mainstream physics model.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_length
Interesting! I am not a nueroscientist, but I think about this sort of thing a lot (a very self referencial activity!) One thing I've come to believe is in line with (what this article presents as) the paper's thesis, and that is the following: Consciousness is best described as a highest order observation process that is non-continuous. Somewhat like a serverless or virtual instance, it can pop in and out of use as…
Listen to what you said... the highest order observation, "when ovserved by the person" is an illusion. This implies that there is someone ("the person") observing the highest order observation -- making it not the highest order. And to be an illusion there needs to be someone to fool in the first place. Try to get that language out of your stataments and then see if you can say ANYTHING AT ALL about consciousness! :…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
For one, quantum physics describes the entire universe as discrete, if I understand it correctly
IANAP but as far as I understand, neither time nor space are believed to be discrete in the mainstream physics model.
As Ramesh Balsekar once said "as long as you believe you have free will, then live your life as if it's true" (otherwise "no freewill" is just a belief and it's doing more harm then good)
Revenge and feeling good when 'justice' is served are seen in a completly different light if we come to terms with our biology.
I think a society that treats someone who behaves badly as sick and not evil is a better place for everyone.
As Ramesh Balsekar once said "as long as you believe you have free will, then live your life as if it's true" (otherwise "no freewill" is just a belief and it's doing more harm then good)
Does it really ? I don't believe in free will, to a large extent, and this doesn't stop me from trying to do good. And doesn't the idea of "free will" also do harm ? Such as when people just discard mental health issues as "just matter of will" ?
So, you believe in free will.
Interesting! I am not a nueroscientist, but I think about this sort of thing a lot (a very self referencial activity!) One thing I've come to believe is in line with (what this article presents as) the paper's thesis, and that is the following: Consciousness is best described as a highest order observation process that is non-continuous. Somewhat like a serverless or virtual instance, it can pop in and out of use as…
It's funny how on one hand consciousness may be the only thing you can be sure exists (Cogito ergo sum), but on the other hand, results from neuroscience suggest it's basically an illusion and is not persistent.
In philosophy of mind this view is broadly construed as 'Epiphenomenalism'. The idea being that consciousness (any mental activity that shows up for us) is like the steam coming off of a locomotive, just a by product of underlying physical events. Our thoughts have no real impact on the underlying operation of the train (brain). Though this view is certainly odd, I've always struggled to see how it isn't true. How co…
I tend to agree. I think of the conscious mind as more like an executive at the top of a huge organization, with like 10 different layers of management and tens of thousands of mostly unseen people beneath it in the org chart. Every time you go up a level of management, the information that flows upward becomes more high-level and abbreviated, because that information is flowing to people that have to make very high-…
If such persons exist in the world (and we know they do), then it's not that irrational to fear "others" (race, religion). To the "other", you are also a different race and/or religion, and thus they might have negative thoughts about you, so it makes sense on some level to be more cautious around them even if you don't share those feelings.
As Ramesh Balsekar once said "as long as you believe you have free will, then live your life as if it's true" (otherwise "no freewill" is just a belief and it's doing more harm then good)
Why do you think a believe in no free will is doing more harm than good? Revenge and feeling good when 'justice' is served are seen in a completly different light if we come to terms with our biology. I think a society that treats someone who behaves badly as sick and not evil is a better place for everyone.
But... as I am healing trauma and have prior experience in the "spiritual seeking", it has become clear to me that the mechanism of dissociation is key to understanding human suffering.
For traumatized individuals and anyone with a long history of depression or anxiety, the teachings on "no self" and/or "no freewill" will almost certainly be grasped on by the conceptual mind, in order to further protect one self from pain. Where there is significant pain that needs to heal, there will be the compulsion to disengage from life that is threatening, especially from social engagement. Worse, a traumatized individual believing they have no free will, and can't do anyhing, may even abandon healing... which is pretty tragic.
I was a in a pretty confusing place myself for a couple years after some glimpses here and there. Whether that can be avoided I don't know. But I think if this were to be taught in larger circles, then it would be better to always pair this understanding with the notion of inter-dependence.