jgill

Curiosity and a modicum of intelligence. We all "philosophy" when we contemplate virtually anything. It's a bell curve with mere babbling on the far l...

Having been a child in the Deep South many, many years ago, I grew up in a white culture which was, to many in the middle class, tolerant of people of...

His description of the art of dreaming may take one into a truly astounding alternate reality. One of sharp and colorful imagery and experience, where...

Is a concern about whether time is discrete or continuous a truly substantive issue, or is it akin to other debatable subjects that have little releva...

I've described my opinion of breeze shooters - and nothing wrong with that, it's a kind of philosophy I suppose, and I should have made that distincti...

Were I to have an ineffable mystical revelation, how would a metaphysician go about applying logic? A psychologist or neuroscientist might be better e...

Time may seem discrete because we are unable to measure time duration below the Planck scale.

The act of thinking defines thinking.

Interesting question. I would say philosophy is like sitting on the couch watching a Science Channel show on brain surgery, then chatting knowingly ab...

I think music theory can be of value in creating music. Can the same be said of the philosophy of mysticism? :chin:

Perhaps this thread demonstrates not that one doesn't care about mysticism, but rather there is little interest in the philosophy of mysticism. I.e., ...

The notion of "rate" requires "time". Circular argument. Sorry.

I think Val Deming can provide necessary guidance to Sleepy Joe. :cool:

As a mathematician, I often think of time as a variable that generates contours in the complex plane. If one views points in that plane as "events" th...

Another great post. Thanks.

Apologies for interrupting a spirited debate, and this may have come up earlier: "Crime rates in the U.S. have fallen by about half since the early 19...

This is a path which few may tread. The poetry of science. :chin:

I'm rooting for Val Deming. :cool:

The cat in the box is reality? :smirk:

Let's see, it takes a message from the Mars Rover about twenty minutes to reach Earth. So, nothing happens here while we are waiting. Sounds about rig...

That may or may not be the case. There is always a risk in magnifying a speculative quantum property to the macro world. The only substantive knowledg...

Good point, Nuke, but I don't think these guys are going that far. They simply want philosophers to provide "guidance" by interpreting mystical journe...

Yes, indeed, but from fellow, more experienced mystics, not from philosophers who love to speculate, being unfamiliar with the internal adventures.

Outstanding post.

In my opinion, you are drawing a line that doesn't exist. Physics is just as concerned with conceiving as with perceiving. Is spacetime a metaphysical...

That's downright mystical of you! :smile: Gregg was a distant cousin of mine.

Perhaps that's true. In a Zen monastery those who have practiced the techniques, along with their mentors, may discuss their internal adventures and r...

Information is that which eats away at entropy.

But eating a mushroom might. :cool:

Some patterns are very simple, others more complex. Complexity, itself, does not imply patterns. Nor does it necessarily imply chaos.

I made this point some time back, but the two central protagonists on this thread enjoy discussing philosophical perspectives of mystical experiences ...

I'm an existentialist, having read Sartre over a half century ago. I spend very little time reminiscing over past experiences. Even at an advanced age...

Avoid A Far Country. :wink:

It makes a difference in athletics. Title IX assumes equal but different, and argues against transgender participation. Otherwise, I don't think it's ...

Years ago I occasionally taught History of Mathematics and I seem to recall that an ancient variety of the sine function was found on cuneiform tablet...

That is certainly true. Higher levels of generalizations in mathematics has led to understanding how seemingly diverse concepts are alike. But this kn...

Religion brings wisdom? Tell that to a young girl being stoned to death for becoming pregnant. :worry: Science vs consciousness? Scientists are not co...

If you include political philosophy - modes of governing - I would say that is clearly an area of intense interest today, and perhaps progress is bein...

Did you mean virtuous sex? It may not be ethical, but the irony is pleasing. :smile:

Please provide references for this statement. Or, do you mean the subjective "I find it undeniable"?

Just a passing comment about this very interesting gentleman. He was a pioneer British rock climber and mountaineer. He was on an expedition to the Hi...

And why should they disagree? Is there some alternative that makes more sense?

There's no evidence nature is a specific kind of (mathematical) dynamic system.

Who knows? But you have described a rock climber. :cool:

I pity the poor, innocent chunk of dead flesh lying in the morgue, conscious, but not aware of itself. Wes Craven where are you? :groan:

Considering speculative theories of history, the butterfly effect is one extreme. Another is Stanislaw Lem's ergodic theory of history: There are soci...

Switch off brain, and there goes consciousness. You assume that because a coherent relation is not detectable now, it will never be detectable because...

That's exactly how my old friend, a thirty year Zen devotee, described it. Empty awareness. We can all have this sensation from time to time when comp...

Could be. I'm awaiting an application of the hyperreals that is useful in describing or predicting physical phenomena. Perhaps quantum theory will be ...

Probability may not be appropriate here. Especially using numbers. :roll: