On May 1, 2009, at 8:16:20 AM, Krimel <[email protected]> wrote: From: Krimel <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [MD] Science Wars Date: May 1, 2009 8:16:20 AM PDT To: [email protected] [Willblake2] Intent is all there is, and it is not governed from above or some divine Godly power. It is just intent. Our collection of atoms is no different from the collection of atoms in a volcano, spouting in anger at the world.
Get over it guys! It's all the same thing! It is all everything! [Krimel] Talk about having your glass half empty. Nihilism is not so much about realizing "the way things are" as having a crappy attitude about "the way things are". [Willblake2] The way things are is wonderful. Just because it is not meaningful in a "getting the big prize" way, does not mean that it is nihilistic. If being no more or less than anything else brings you depression, then by no means think that way. In your case, humans surpass everything else alive on this world, and that is great! I wish it was as simple as that. If you want to feel superior to a rock, that is just great. I do not need to. It is just that sometimes the arrogance of what I read makes me react in a negative way. Just "being" surpasses any of the mind trips I can think of. [Krimel] There are any number of ways one can find meaning in life. I don't think you know me well enough to say or to pass judgment on where "I" find it. I used to live near Stone Mountain, GA. That was one big fucking rock. I did not feel in the least bit superior to it. I have my place in the world and it has its. As near as I can tell everything in the world is made of quarks and leptons. But none of this serves to convince me that it is all just one big homogenized ball. The two great powers of the human mind are the ability to see difference and to see similarity. Wisdom is the ability use these powers appropriately. You strike me as suffering from "philosophopause". An old professor of mine said this was a state that afflicts people in the later stages of their scientific careers. There is this need to say what it all means in a "getting the big prize" sort of way. I suspect it results in part from what you mentioned awhile back: specialization. The sciences became very specialized in the middle of the last century. So much so that people in different disciplines could study the same thing from different angles and not ever talk to each other about it. This produces a kind of tunnel vision and a loss of any sense of the connectedness that underlies the entire enterprise of science. Whatever "just being" is it sounds like just another mind trip. But hey, everyone needs a vacation now and then. Hi Krimel, Perhaps philosophopause is a good description for it. Whatever it is, I have found true meaning in my life. Is there something other than a mind trip? Is your mind above itself? Are you endowed with some Godlike understanding that is outside your mind. Many people believe they are divinely inspired, and that their thoughts are much more than their thoughts. Such a belief is great if you have it. I simply cannot get there. The powers of the mind, hmmm. Can you describe why you call them powers? Is the mind some cosmic energy that we are endowed with? It is possible, and I like a lot of what Rudolph Steiner, Amit Goswami, Jung, Aleister Crowely, and others have to say recently about this. Consciousness is a tricky subject. The great thing, is that it can be understood without science, philosophy, or any training whatsoever. The scientific approach is pretty common. The bits of knowledge are specific. I don't feel I have tunnel vision because I don't know how to fix my TV, or talk coherently about economics. I have a group of friends in science and we speak the same language. It is just a hobby, but it keeps me inquiring and full. I dabble in philosophy, which is not as complicated, too. You seem pretty certain about your understanding, which is great. You may be missing out, however, on a bigger picture. It is possible to understand and agree internally with conflicting views. Give it a try sometime. Is it possible that we evolved from the lightning bolt that created amino acids and subsequently DNA, and, that we are here as a result of intelligence beyond our understanding? These discussion are great, they bring out the best in us. Cheers, Willblake2 Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
