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Gnomon

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In: Is consciousness a feeling, sensation, sum of all feelings and sensations, or something else?  — view comment
Actually, there are plenty of respectable scientists who are challenging the materialist paradigm. But their tests are necessarily thought experiments...
November 09, 2019 at 03:58
In: "Agnosticism"  — view comment
Apparently you see the question of "God" in terms of "Yes or No", with no room for doubt. Yet, like Socrates, I tend to doubt the completeness and acc...
November 08, 2019 at 18:36
In: Is consciousness a feeling, sensation, sum of all feelings and sensations, or something else?  — view comment
The subtitle to Koch's book, The Feeling Of Life Itself, is Why Consciousness is Widespread but Can't Be Computed.
November 08, 2019 at 18:02
In: Is consciousness a feeling, sensation, sum of all feelings and sensations, or something else?  — view comment
FWIW, I think feedback loops and self-reference are necessary, but not sufficient, to produce consciousness. Again Koch's book gets into the details o...
November 08, 2019 at 17:55
In: Is consciousness a feeling, sensation, sum of all feelings and sensations, or something else?  — view comment
I'm sure there are plenty of "antenna" references out there but I haven't taken the time to look for them, since I think they are taking the analogy t...
November 08, 2019 at 17:50
In: Is consciousness a feeling, sensation, sum of all feelings and sensations, or something else?  — view comment
If you're saying that the brain is a sensory organ for meaning, that pretty well sums it up. But there are no dedicated sensors (like eyes) specifical...
November 08, 2019 at 02:02
In: Is consciousness a feeling, sensation, sum of all feelings and sensations, or something else?  — view comment
Christoph Koch on Consciousness The Wikipedia page has lots of references : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christof_Koch 2018 article : https://www.nat...
November 08, 2019 at 01:36
In: Is consciousness a feeling, sensation, sum of all feelings and sensations, or something else?  — view comment
If you're looking for a philosophical definition of "Consciousness", you may find that each poster has his own opinion. But if you're looking for a cu...
November 07, 2019 at 00:54
In: What is progress?  — view comment
I suppose "progress" is in the eyes of the beholder. It depends on your definition, and on your ability to see long-term trends in history. If you are...
November 07, 2019 at 00:10
In: Unanswerable question about human origins.  — view comment
Yes. And all humans of all times have been intrigued by the enigma of existence with no definite cause. Yet, the only solution that makes sense requir...
November 05, 2019 at 17:52
In: Rigged Economy or Statistical Inevitability?  — view comment
I'm sorry if my assertion about Marxism being "out of date", offended you. However, it wasn't a digression, but integral to my understanding of the ar...
November 05, 2019 at 17:24
In: Rigged Economy or Statistical Inevitability?  — view comment
Yes. Money is a metaphysical form of Energy, which can be both constructive and destructive. The trick is to control the flow to maintain a safe level...
November 04, 2019 at 18:29
In: Rigged Economy or Statistical Inevitability?  — view comment
The article says, " these mathematical models demonstrate that far from wealth trickling down to the poor, the natural inclination of wealth is to flo...
November 04, 2019 at 00:13
In: Rigged Economy or Statistical Inevitability?  — view comment
Maybe now kids on the short stack of the Monopoly bank will be able to calculate their way out of poverty. :joke:
November 04, 2019 at 00:06
In: Rigged Economy or Statistical Inevitability?  — view comment
Sorry, I have no training or aptitude for economics or politics. So this article was news to me. I was surprised to hear that laws of physics also app...
November 04, 2019 at 00:01
In: Rigged Economy or Statistical Inevitability?  — view comment
I suspect that Marx may have been talking about a problem that was endemic in Europe prior to the French Revolution. "Under the ancien régime, ennoble...
November 03, 2019 at 23:55
In: Rigged Economy or Statistical Inevitability?  — view comment
Both are "old news". Any 21st century solution to the problem of economic inequality will have to take into consideration the "invisible left hand" of...
November 03, 2019 at 23:10
In: The Destructive Beginning of Humanity  — view comment
I don't think humans are inherently more destructive than any other predatory animal. For example, if wolves had the ability to develop technological ...
November 03, 2019 at 02:09
In: What's the missing Cause?  — view comment
Not necessarily. Hence the information content is One. :smile:
November 02, 2019 at 01:20
In: An Estimate for no ‘God’  — view comment
Whew! :joke:
November 01, 2019 at 16:41
In: What's the missing Cause?  — view comment
Nothing but BEING : the power and potential for existence. In BEING, all things are possible. Deus cogito, ergo sum. G*D thinks, therefore I am. :smil...
November 01, 2019 at 16:24
In: What's the missing Cause?  — view comment
Yes, my worldview is grounded on the notion of Eternal BEING : the power to exist. All other concepts assume that " existence precedes essence ". No b...
October 31, 2019 at 23:34
In: Job's Suffering: Is God Still Just?  — view comment
As a Deist, here's my thoughts on Divine Justice, as revealed in the story of JOB. http://www.bothandblog.enformationism.info/page59.html
October 31, 2019 at 23:18
In: Do Plato's Forms Require the Existence of God  — view comment
I suspect that Plato also assumed a universal god-like Mind as the source of all Forms. But his notion of that Eternal Essence was more like an impers...
October 31, 2019 at 23:05
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
But it's a start. Existential Dread is based on a belief that has become embedded as an item of Faith. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy -- it goes by seve...
October 31, 2019 at 17:07
In: Let's talk about morphic resonance  — view comment
I think that's the problem here : not physics, but logic. Sheldrake's Morphic Field hypothesis is philosophical, not scientific -- holistic, not analy...
October 30, 2019 at 23:48
In: Adventures in Modern Russia  — view comment
FWIW, I've never been to the Democratic Federal Republic of Russia, but I have recently watched some high quality Russian-made Netflix movies set in M...
October 30, 2019 at 23:02
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
The "adversary" of Stoicism is extremism, whether of proud Optimism or of abject Cynicism. There is no need to slog in the slough of meaninglessness, ...
October 30, 2019 at 17:28
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
Again, with the political correctness! Sorry, but "Drama King" just wouldn't convey the same imagery. :grin: I was looking for a modifier that would f...
October 30, 2019 at 17:08
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
Not so. Stoicism teaches us to avoid extremes of emotion, not to completely shut-off normal human feelings. Of course, Stoic love might seem like indi...
October 30, 2019 at 02:18
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
Apparently, my pathetic attempt to rhyme "heroic" and "stoic" struck a nerve. The modern meaning of "hero" has been skewed by all the comic-book Überm...
October 29, 2019 at 22:38
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
Since I have no formal training in Philosophy, I tend to speak plainly, and to avoid beating around the bush. I'm aware that we live in "politically c...
October 29, 2019 at 22:13
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
I wasn't equating "heroic" with "stoic" -- merely rhyming. The intended point was that it takes a strong personal character (virtue) to exercise self-...
October 29, 2019 at 16:32
In: Because qualia: THIS! What does it mean?  — view comment
I'm still developing my own position on the controversial concept of Consciousness. It begins by noting that Consciousness is an abstract quality, not...
October 29, 2019 at 00:31
In: On beginning a discussion in philosophy of religion  — view comment
I agree. But, when god is labeled as "a perfect being", it's an Oxymoron. In our experience, no created or mortal beings are perfect. Because, given L...
October 28, 2019 at 23:38
In: An Estimate for no ‘God’  — view comment
Do you have a link to "The Final Answer"? Was it written by Nobody or by you?
October 28, 2019 at 18:19
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
Maybe "rational" was the wrong term. Perhaps I should have proposed that the "conscious" self (pilot) should retake control from the "subconscious" (a...
October 28, 2019 at 17:41
In: An Estimate for no ‘God’  — view comment
I was just reminded, by your physical/metaphysical poetry, of the book by Gevin Giorbran : Everything Forever, Learning to See Timelessness.https://ww...
October 28, 2019 at 00:30
In: An Estimate for no ‘God’  — view comment
:up: My G*D model is defined as ALL, the Whole of which humans are curious particles. My personal illusion of Reality is created in my own mind by int...
October 27, 2019 at 23:21
In: On beginning a discussion in philosophy of religion  — view comment
Apparently, I have given you the wrong impression of Enformationism. It is not an attempt "to bring God down to this world". And it is not a Christolo...
October 27, 2019 at 22:43
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
I suspect that you suffer from the Philosopher's disease : you overthink things. If you focus on the minor details, you'll miss the big picture. If yo...
October 27, 2019 at 03:14
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
I'm afraid my worldview would not be very comforting for most people. It doesn't "justify" evil, but merely accepts that both Good and Evil are inhere...
October 27, 2019 at 01:07
In: Design, No design. How to tell the difference?  — view comment
I agree. But I also infer from the constructive order of the universe that the "intrinsic structure" of the system was not a random accident. And, sin...
October 26, 2019 at 18:21
In: On beginning a discussion in philosophy of religion  — view comment
I have asked those same questions about my hypothetical G*D. And my answer is No. First, my G*D is not Theistic or Pantheistic, but PanEnDeistic. Defi...
October 25, 2019 at 00:55
In: On beginning a discussion in philosophy of religion  — view comment
As I began to develop my own personal Agnostic worldview, I tried to avoid any religious terminology. But eventually I realized that the Ultimate Sour...
October 25, 2019 at 00:07
In: Former Theists, how do you avoid nihilism?  — view comment
Christianity set the bar too high for mortal humans. By their standards, we are all abject sinners. The dark cynical attitude that no one really cares...
October 24, 2019 at 23:28
In: Design, No design. How to tell the difference?  — view comment
From what kind of logic could you infer otherwise? Do you have any reason to believe in spontaneous creation of organization, energy, laws? The reason...
October 24, 2019 at 17:32
In: Design, No design. How to tell the difference?  — view comment
Oh no. That's would be far above my pay grade. I'll leave the specifying of an evolutionary program to those who are experts in that field. And I leav...
October 24, 2019 at 16:50
In: Design, No design. How to tell the difference?  — view comment
No insult was intended. The Black/White reference was intended to show what the BothAnd philosophy is supposed to provide an alternative to. No. IMHO,...
October 24, 2019 at 16:32
In: Design, No design. How to tell the difference?  — view comment
Precisely! Randomness is an integral part of the "design" of Evolution. The program has two major components : a Randomizer to generate multiple optio...
October 23, 2019 at 23:25
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