There is nothing without conciousness, existence must be observed

[dreamth]

There are two specific areas of the human brain which have a very deterministic bearing on consciousness. Damage to these two areas causes the brain to go into deep coma. These areas are:

i) the rostral dorsolateral pontine tegmentum
ii) "two areas in the cortex that were linked up to the rostral dorsolateral pontine tegmentum, and were most likely to play a role in regulating consciousness. One was in the left, ventral, anterior insula (AI), and the other was in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pACC)."

Reference:
Harvard Scientists Think They've Pinpointed The Physical Source of Consciousness

We only need 7 billion 9mm bullets to solve all the Universe problems

 

[edbarx]

We only need 7 billion 9mm bullets to solve all the Universe problems

OK, start the cull!

Trollollollollollollollollol. Thanks for the good laugh, you made my day, how naive!

 

[Charles Darwin]

We only need 7 billion 9mm bullets to solve all the Universe problems

You not solving the lead pollution problem like that.

 

[dreamth]

You not solving the lead pollution problem like that.

Elon Musk will come back on Earth one day and solve the problem...Then one bullet more won't count ...

 

[diyiggy]

Did not you understand ? He already solved it : just drive in cosmonaut suit as there is no lithium enough for 7 billions cars !

 

[paulys55]

“It's so hard to believe in anything anymore. I mean, it's like, religion, you really can't take it seriously, because it seems so mythological, it seems so arbitrary...but, on the other hand, science is just pure empiricism, and by virtue of its method, it excludes metaphysics. I guess I wouldn't believe in anything anymore if it weren't for my lucky astrology mood watch.”
-Steve Martin

 

[bozoc]

What objective basis is there for believing that science is the correct method for obtaining all possible knowledge? Science is excellent at what it does, but that does not prove that it does everything that can be done. Science cannot investigate things which lie outside its realm, so you either have to use other methods or assume that no such things exist; by definition science cannot tell you which of these two ways is correct.

Science has always been one of the great achievement of humankind. To understand objective reality is no trivial task that takes bravery and discipline.
I would not like to live in a world without science for sure...

But everything that shines bright has a shadow. Nietzsche was one of the first to notice that shadow(shadow of The Enlightenment) as he did in everything else important to humans. Philosophers later on continued on his work as they had to deal with obnoxious and prevalent scientism among other things that is going strong even today.

Science is a very powerful tool indeed, but is only valid within it's own assumptions.
Today you have PhDs that say things like "I don't do metaphysics" or "I don't deal with philosophy, I only do science." with a straight face. I guess they don't know what a PhD means.
Scientism among other things is unfortunately detrimental to the employed scientific method itself.

 

[KaffiMann]

Shouldn't philosophy be based on all the 'cold facts' available?

If it isn't isn't it just wishful thinking?

Some times it seems that what some consider "cold facts" is loosely based on assumptions and "seeing patterns that are not there", which I can agree with JSR that we are very good at.

We survive in the world because we study it, and the lives lived thousands of years ago were every bit as complex as they are now. I often wish I was born before the onset of the Anthropocene, otherwise known to me as ‘The Age Of Stupid’.

Just because we have lost the documentation of what happened 10k, 15k or 20k years ago does not mean that we are any smarter today. We are just more people, put enough monkeys in a room with typewriters...

Mostly though, first define consciousness....

Consciousness, soul, egocentric behaviour. Same thing really.

Human consciousness is becoming aware that you are aware that you are aware.

Usually happens to a child at around seven years of age.

I am not so sure about that, just because we cannot talk to other animals, we believe they are stupid. Probably the same for some them, "Those white fluffballs do not speak our howl&growl language, and they are slow! They must be food!".
I guess it is possible that some animals are even more "conscious" than we are, like there are different forms of intelligence.

Well. That will come if we are conscious or not.

Can I be sure that the light is not on when I close the fridge?
Cheers!

So this seems like a plan to save Denmark and possibly also Netherland from natural catastrophes, through beer consumption?!

Even some animals support your plan, they've been at it for years!
There are lots of accounts of reindeer deliberately getting high on consuming certain mushrooms, and also lots of accounts of animals deliberately eating fermented fruit to get wasted.
Se, en <<full>> svensk elg! - Dagbladet

 

[mountainman bob]

We had a riding school/stables growing up and there was one horse (out of around 8) that every year would get wasted on plums that had dropped and fermented.....only that one, the others wouldn’t touch the stuff.
We had people constantly coming to the door saying our horse was sick, one feller even offered to ‘put her down’ for us! The reaction when told she was just drunk was priceless....we’d stand on the porch and watch until they were satisfied it was just drunk!
It was rather hilarious.....and I really believe the horse liked it.

 

[Galu]

It's hard to stop drinking once you've taken the bit between your teeth!

 

[Charles Darwin]

My dog used to drink every unsupervised alcoholic drink.

She wasn't choosy: Beer, wine and mixed drinks were all fair game to her.

 

[Galu]

My dog stayed sober to drive me home from the pub!

 

[tapestryofsound]

Just because we have lost the documentation of what happened 10k, 15k or 20k years ago does not mean that we are any smarter today. We are just more people, put enough monkeys in a room with typewriters...

.........just because we cannot talk to other animals, we believe they are stupid. Probably the same for some them, "Those white fluffballs do not speak our howl&growl language, and they are slow! They must be food!".

I guess it is possible that some animals are even more "conscious" than we are, like there are different forms of intelligence.

There are lots of accounts of reindeer deliberately getting high on consuming certain mushrooms, and also lots of accounts of animals deliberately eating fermented fruit to get wasted.

If we listen to the oral history of aboriginals, they have records of proven events that have happened anywhere up to 75,000 years ago.

I have learnt that all living creatures are intelligent, and because they are driven mostly by instinct, they prefer predictable behaviour from humans. If they get that, and birds in particular will study you for weeks before they accept you, then and only then, will they live in harmony with you. I could talk for hours about this.

And it is animals that have shown humans where to find medicinal or psychoactive plants and fungi that are safe for consumptive use.

I think the main difference between us humans and everything else of what inhabits the rest of the biosphere is that our awareness of our awareness of our awareness really does get in the way of life itself for other living things.

tapestryofsound

 

[Charles Darwin]

My dog stayed sober to drive me home from the pub!

Mine liked to be driven.

Unless it was a Ford, she'd puke in Fords.

 

[mountainman bob]

I think the main difference between us humans and everything else of what inhabits the rest of the biosphere is that our awareness of our awareness of our awareness really does get in the way of life itself for other living things.

tapestryofsound

Thanks TOS,

I was unaware.

 

[Galu]

Mine liked to be driven. Unless it was a Ford, she'd puke in Fords.

A not uncommon reaction it seems!

 

[Disco-Pete]

If we listen to the oral history of aboriginals, they have records of proven events that have happened anywhere up to 75,000 years ago.

I have learnt that all living creatures are intelligent, and because they are driven mostly by instinct, they prefer predictable behaviour from humans. If they get that, and birds in particular will study you for weeks before they accept you, then and only then, will they live in harmony with you. I could talk for hours about this.

And it is animals that have shown humans where to find medicinal or psychoactive plants and fungi that are safe for consumptive use.

I think the main difference between us humans and everything else of what inhabits the rest of the biosphere is that our awareness of our awareness of our awareness really does get in the way of life itself for other living things.

tapestryofsound

Yes, there are no stupid creatures, only defective ones within species/genomes which can be categorized as sub par. Harmony with nature is consistent with all creatures simultaneously, observed and experienced as such. In this context, intelligence is universal, communication is constant. Being aware of this fact does not taint our existence, rather it's our ignorance of it that is escalating our destruction of it.

 

[edbarx]

For anyone wanting to read an overview of what is being done in the fields of philosophy and neuroscience regarding consciousness, read the following link.
Consciousness: Theories in Neuroscience and Philosophy of Mind - Andrea Eugenio Cavanna, Andrea Nani - Google Books

 

[johnsurnamerobinson]

Yes we really should nurture and respect other creatures on this planet.Not to do so is yet another example of our consiousness limits.

 

[olsond3]

When you become unconscious behind the wheel of your fast moving car, I would expect that the tree your car is headed for does not suddenly cease to exist.