pagan heart

I see divinity in nature. I think our planet is alive. It may have a spirit. (Spirit is mind, of course.)

Anyway, we're all a part of it. If this biosphere is a sufficient substrate for the emergence of some sort of mental entity, we are all a part of it. Group mind type thing.

Originally posted by apathist
I see divinity in nature. I think our planet is alive. It may have a spirit. (Spirit is mind, of course.)

Anyway, we're all a part of it. If this biosphere is a sufficient substrate for the emergence of some sort of mental entity, we are all a part of it. Group mind type thing.

Do you have any actual evidence / reasoning or is it just something you think sounds cool so you believe it?

Originally posted by apathist
I see divinity in nature. I think our planet is alive. It may have a spirit. (Spirit is mind, of course.)

Anyway, we're all a part of it. If this biosphere is a sufficient substrate for the emergence of some sort of mental entity, we are all a part of it. Group mind type thing.

Our planet or Pandora?

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Our planet or Pandora?

He's speaking of Gaia.

Originally posted by apathist
I see divinity in nature. I think our planet is alive. It may have a spirit. (Spirit is mind, of course.)

Anyway, we're all a part of it. If this biosphere is a sufficient substrate for the emergence of some sort of mental entity, we are all a part of it. Group mind type thing.

It's a Turing machine running a mysterious algorithm whose completion would take longer than the universe will last. So we are condemned to never fully understand it.

Originally posted by apathist
I see divinity in nature. I think our planet is alive. It may have a spirit. (Spirit is mind, of course.)

Anyway, we're all a part of it. If this biosphere is a sufficient substrate for the emergence of some sort of mental entity, we are all a part of it. Group mind type thing.

yes this is also a Biblical principle, Romans 1:20,

for from [the] world's creation the invisible things of him are perceived, being apprehended by the mind through the things that are made, both his eternal power and divinity, -- so as to render them inexcusable. - Darby Translation

For his invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable. - New world translation

Originally posted by twhitehead
Do you have any actual evidence / reasoning or is it just something you think sounds cool so you believe it?

The more I learn, the more it resonates. I got here the long way around, since I'm a skeptic and an atheist. The evidence is circumstantial, the reasoning inductive and holistic.

There's the "hard problem" of consciousness, a good place to start maybe. I think its important to note that science does work very well, partly because it is objective - so its not so good for studying the subjective. The nature of mind is a very great mystery!

Originally posted by apathist
The more I learn, the more it resonates.

What have you learned, that makes it resonate more?

Originally posted by apathist
The more I learn, the more it resonates.

I thought so. It just 'feels good'.

I think its important to note that science does work very well, partly because it is objective - so its not so good for studying the subjective. The nature of mind is a very great mystery!
The nature of the mind is not as great a mystery to everyone as it may be to you. Further, science is good for studying just about everything. But most importantly, it appears you want the mind to be mysterious so that you can make wild unsupported claims about it without too much controversy.
A rational person makes fewer claims about the unknown than about the known. An religious person tries to get away with wild claims about the unknown precisely because they are unknown.

Originally posted by twhitehead
Do you have any actual evidence / reasoning or is it just something you think sounds cool so you believe it?

You really care what he believes or is it just a needling question that sounds cool, so you ask it ?

Originally posted by twhitehead
I thought so. It just 'feels good'.

[b]I think its important to note that science does work very well, partly because it is objective - so its not so good for studying the subjective. The nature of mind is a very great mystery!
The nature of the mind is not as great a mystery to everyone as it may be to you. Further, science is good for studying j ...[text shortened]... person tries to get away with wild claims about the unknown precisely because they are unknown.[/b]

It is based on experience as well as knowledge and reason, and yes it feels good.

As for the mystery of mind, I see you wave your hands to dismiss it and then add insult. If there is a solution to the mystery, I haven't heard of it yet. Been looking, too.

Originally posted by Great King Rat
What have you learned, that makes it resonate more?

I have trouble with this, because there is so much involved, like the pixels in a screen image. Each dot, examined separately, doesn't have to suggest the overall image. But as an image started forming in my mind, sort of a framework or foundation, other things I've learned from all sorts of sources seem to easily fit in that framework. That's what I meant with that "resonate" comment.

But if I just give the latest pixel, for example, it would be too easy to provide alternate explanations. I think its better to start with some of the broad strokes, such as the issue captured in what is known as the "hard problem" of consciousness.

Originally posted by Great King Rat
What have you learned, that makes it resonate more?

A recent pixel: I read an article recently about bacteria communication. I think it was in Discover magazine. I found this link to the story:
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressrelease/biologists_discover_bacteria_communicate_like_neurons_in_the_brain

I know that mind can arise from a suitable physical substrate, and I know that substrate must be involved in information processing. I suspect that minds can occur from substrates different from ours, and at levels different than ours (above, below).

This isn't meant to say that I believe that bacteria colony gives rise to a mind, just that I encounter the news and it fits nice into the world-view I've been experimenting with.

Btw, "A group of physicists say they’ve found a way to account for the mysterious radio signals that may be emanating from colonies of E. coli...", haha serendipitous!

I forgot to add the link for that last sentence above! Here it is:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2011/04/25/could-bacteria-communicate-by-bouncing-electrons-around-their-chromosomes/#.Vuw05xYsmaQ

It appears that our brains are hardwired to learn the local language. I think something similar may occur concerning spirituality.