Emergent Phenomena - The whole is greater...

[Slaughterhousefive42]

...than the sum of its parts. We emerge from our brain and society emerges from our interactions.

Society should be greater than individuals, just as our consciousness is greater than the brain. Society is evolving to become a networked organism. That is the future and past of evolution, the universe started out as an energetic singularity, exploded into an interconnected soup of subatomic particles (quark-gluon plasma). Its self propagating energy and aetheric pressure produced the rhythm of intelligence called life, which uses its inherent unconscious knowledge of the world to perform against entropy. As our society evolved from quarks to atoms to molecules to cells to cell systems to organs to organ systems to organisms (one celled chemical machinery) to multicelled to moving to water loving to land loving to oxygen producing to oxygen using to plants to animals to reptiles to mammals to primates to chimps to bipedalism to homo erectus to homo sapiens to bands of hunters to farmers to warriors to feudals to homo economicus to empires to nations to Gaia to other planets to solar systems to galaxies to universal expansion.
Everything is the thought of an organism.

 

[nicnicnic]

That is an awesome riff! I very much apreciate the affirmation that consciousness is greater than the brain.

All I would add is that cosmic consiousness does not mean putting a US flag on the moon, but can be experienced if one reaches into the still, silent but supreme mind, that floats through what you called the 'rhythm of intelligence,' if I understand you correctly. Would you agree?

Also, I would recommend a book, Ken Wilber's A Brief History of Everything, which talks of microcosms and macrocosms, and a new unity of science and spirituality. This is not the first time I have recommended this book but it really should be required reading for the Thought & Awareness crowd.

take care.

 

[Slaughterhousefive42]

nicnic, I would completely agree. Cosmic consciousness is about knowledge and progress and intelligence, not transitory political powers.
I would like to add that intelligence is distinct from intellect. You can be an intellectual man, but still ignorant in intelligence. And vice versa. I would argue the development of more nuclear bombs is intellectual but the opposite of intelligence. The goal of the universe's intelligence is towards creating good and becoming wise in the most general sense. Intelligence is inherently peaceful, thoughtful, evolving, and content.

 

[L2R]

Well said, both of you.
"The whole is greater than the sum of it's parts."

That just says it all, doesn't it? How else can anything be? Where does the fuel, the drive, the direction, the inspiration, etc start? How does anything emerge without compulsion, or evolve without propulsion?

 

[ebola?]

to the original poster, what do you mean by "greater"? How is it operationalized?

ebola

 

[Slaughterhousefive42]

Excuse my unfamiliarity with the term operationalized.
But I would say greater means a higher level of control, knowledge, power, consciousness. I would say greater = meta. It is beyond the function of the previous level in terms of complexity, scope, scale, and organization.