Favourite Philosophical Concept?

[L2R]

yeah, unless you're referring to fiction, universe tends to be everything.

 

[ebola?]

Another concept:

The "dialectic": this is a logical pattern that plays prominently into Marx (via Hegel), describing how immanent dynamics can drive change through history. The short is that the context of the present contains a dynamic opposition of some sort (for Marx, a "contradiction"). Per this dynamic opposition, the present contains conditions of possibility for new development, but these possibilities lie as of yet unrealized because they are fettered by other conditions which oppose their development. Eg, for Marx, capitalist forces of production (industry requiring groups of workers collaborating to produce) presents the unrealized potentiality for workers to collaborate to produce to actualize creative expression of freedom, but this potentiality remains unrealized due to the direction of production and distribution by private owners (that is, relations of production governed by private property that divides society into classes of owner and worker). As the dialectic develops, the internal dynamics of the system impel a resolution to the contradiction through a set of changes that undermines and supersedes the conditions underlying the prior contradiction. In the case of Marx, continued development of the forces of production establish the social conditions that will impel the overturning of the relations of production that fetter them. For Marx, communist revolution establishes cooperative ownership and direction of the means of production by workers, removing the class-disparities that prior fettered the realization of collaborative potential; the opposition of class-schism was forged with the outright abolition of the conditions that make the very existence of classes possible.

Hegel's dialectic is a bit tougher (for me) to understand, but the short is that for the universe to realize its potential for self-knowledge, it must establish opposing agents (with their own perspectives), set in opposing relation of self and other. However, the conditions allowing for this opposition also create the possibility of collaborative exchange, establishing intersubjectivity as a wider basis for self-consciousness, extending more and more to include the environment that provides the bases of consciousness as well. Taking Hegel to his terminus, I think you have something like a technological singularity emerging, expanding its scope without bounds, swallowing more and more of the universe within its identification of itself.

ebola

 

[Jabberwocky]

Asking for my favourite philosophical concept is like asking for my favourite breath of air for the day, but I will think about it and get back to this thread with an answer.

Nice point of view on the works you mentioned above, ebola.

 

[ebola?]

Hofstadter thinks that the emergent self, a mind trying to describe itself to itself, provides another such example of a strange loop. Neural activity in producing the experience of dynamically linked symbols produces a conception of a coherent self that exercises 'free will' (let's define the latter autonomous causal influence over what this self does), understands motivations in terms of its desires, feelings, etc., provides an account of itself in terms of strings of memories, and so forth. If this description were true and exhaustive, then the neurology of the brain couldn't have produced it. Yet it is through the symbolic systems of the mind that we fashion an intelligible description of this neurology itself (for only conscious investigators come to know about neurology).

You know, maybe the strange-loopiness of selfhood rears its head in a simpler matter. One could say that the universe comes to self-knowledge only via the investigators that emerge within it. However, the conditions of the emergence of perception cultivate a self that views itself via differentiated from and exclusion of what it experiences itself to not be. This conceals the nature of the self as an emergent aspect of a unified whole. However, this very process is the only route via which the whole comes to experience itself, mediating all information emergent in the universe evolving as process (and in some sense producing the 'essence of things'). And yet this strangeloopiness renders the picture that develops in perception incomplete, as each new layer of metaconsciousness cannot include itself in its understanding.

ebola

 

[Psychonautical]

I like to play with the god delusion.
In The beginning there was everything. There has always been everything, and there will always be everything. Since the form or essence of everything you witness has always been in existence in one way or another exceeding any boundaries of the human prison known as time. In this there was no definite beginning only constant changing. The beginning stated previously refers to the space that filled our universe long before the earth and long before life. Eventually, however the Earth will return to that space and re-emerge again in a sequence with no specific order but intended to be based upon the same criteria of infinite impossibility. It began in the space from which every child is born, from which every seed is hatched and from which every soul returns to. It is a space containing any and all knowledge ever learned or thought of. It is every memory ever kept. It is a space filled with nothing but pure energy. A Collection of eternal spirits or essences. A collective soul. Within this space of massive energy is a being made completely out of its own entirety. This space or being has a collectiveness and a consciousness. It is all seeing and all knowing and perfect because it is the unity of all in existence. This consciousness is what humans may call a god.

This "God" loves patterns as it has always loved them. This God was filled with three main presences. The Good or Positive The Negative or Evil and the Neutral or Unchangeable. In Human science these things have been categorized as Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons. This "God" liked to put order to his chaotically energetic form. This "god" arranged some of the energy particles into patterns within himself he shaped thousands of different variations. Patterns are eternal but they are all generally made out of shapes that are recognizable. Our Universe is Eternal and Repetitive. All things connect in patterns. God knew that the patterns could would and will continue to grow larger. "God" knew the different patterns would eventually take their own individual forms as they achieved their perfection. These forms are the four elements we recognize most here on earth. Earth, Wind, Fire, Water. Eventually the patterns gained enough knowledge to create the very earth itself. In this God made from his pure energy our MATERIAL reality. As he had many times before and would many times more. This creation took only a second in the timelessness of space that is the distance between us and god. But millions of years in the comprehension that is considered merely human. God pushed the earth away and into the deep abyss of our physical universe. Our Material world was made to keep us away from the mysteries of eternal life. Parts of god or individual souls separated from gods form and were born on this material planet in the forms of humans, trees, children, Flowers, Bees, Birds, All living creatures anything that can have a story. This gave the earth motion vibrancy color and life. Every time a Child is born he leaves the embodiment of god for the body created for them here in on earth.


We are all Spiritual Creatures on a Physical Journey. The Distance that god put itself from us causes some souls to get lost. They contribute to the energy that blows the wind turns the seas brings life to the fires Shifts the Earth and creates the miracles of reality. Humans have learned to channel this energy to light their lights to fuel their machines. They do not know what energy truly is and it is not their fault. The Humans that abuse electricity and power for greed will return to earth in the next life ONLY to CRANK THE GEARS OF the machine they have built. Each individual soul has existed long before the physical and material world you see before you. IT chose to leave gods form and it chooses to return to it. When someones life is taken from us abruptly its because they are required to return sooner or later and the sooner arrived first. In this you must understand we are ALL GOD all together we are perfect. To perfect yourself here on earth is to eternally become part of god. Humans were made to forget where we come from. I'm also just not speaking of your mothers womb. We are all programmed and MADE to be ignorant. However we are also made to learn and have knowledge. We are here for own self indulgence, to attempt to attain all the things we cant have while holding a metaphysical pattern. Our purpose to perfect ourselves it's our rigorous concept to achieve eternal freedom. Our ultimate indulgence is to exploit everything around us. Our ultimate goal is to achieve a kind of love or timeless understanding that is not found in our material items. WE Existed before matter. Remember Matter is fleeting as is time. Time is what we put on top of our heads to remind us about things that matter but to put a time limit on the matter means that no one can truly attain everything they think they can on this physical level of existence. All thing happen because they were made or were meant to. Outside of our earth there is no true time there is no true "space" there is no true Emotion outside of our Earth it is perfect. Live and Die and it will all fall together.

 

[pharmakos]

i should probably finish reading Hofstadter. i started reading GEB, but it was so wordy.... 20 pages about whether or not that prisoner was telling the truth or telling a lie. the world isn't that black and white! in between truth and lies there's a big gray area of pure nonsense. maybe that's the conclusion Dougie was going towards, but he was taking wayyyy too long to get there. i couldn't take it.

 

[MyDoorsAreOpen]

You know, maybe the strange-loopiness of selfhood rears its head in a simpler matter. One could say that the universe comes to self-knowledge only via the investigators that emerge within it. However, the conditions of the emergence of perception cultivate a self that views itself via differentiated from and exclusion of what it experiences itself to not be. This conceals the nature of the self as an emergent aspect of a unified whole. However, this very process is the only route via which the whole comes to experience itself, mediating all information emergent in the universe evolving as process (and in some sense producing the 'essence of things'). And yet this strangeloopiness renders the picture that develops in perception incomplete, as each new layer of metaconsciousness cannot include itself in its understanding.

ebola

You really ought to wiki "Process Theology" when you have a free moment. I think you've pretty much built it from scratch right here, even though I'm pretty sure that wasn't your intent, and definitely wasn't Douglas Hofstadter's.

 

[rickolasnice]

I like the idea of having a metaphysical soul.. but only if it encompasses my whole consciousness... or.. at least the parts i want to keep..

The idea of an afterlife has got to be the number one "I wish there was one / i hope there is one" concept, no? The Idea of going to a utopian heaven where things are better.. Personalised in a way..

One I have been thinking about recently is the possibility we have created conscious beings using artificial intelligence..

I've seen AI in computer games exhibit higher levels of consciousness than, say, ants or even snakes and "higher" animals. How can we know that some forms of AI that we have been able to create do not experience a self of self. How do we know they don't feel pain, fear, etc.

Obviously my belief of the self, capable of free will is an illusion helps me to think this is possible.. but even if you don't share those beliefs, it might still be possible.

The 'maybe we already have' aside, I 100% believe that a man made machine can be conscious, and with technological advances this will happen.