Atheism

[happytige]

Freezer, I don't know what makes me "me" , though I know that there is a huge genetic component.

Quoting Graeme Clark again

The brain is a remarkable structure for processing sensory information. It has been calculated that there are some 100 thousand million nerve cells in the adult human brain—roughly the same as the number of stars in the Milky Way. Each brain cell is connected to between ten and 10,000 other brain cells, so therefore, there are about 100 million million connections in the brain! It has also been estimated that the number of possible activation states of the brain, is greater than the number of atoms in the universe. So there is an amazing number of possibilities in the brain for sensing and processing information.

Finally, our feelings, those of love, hate, pride and loyalty, for example, cannot easily be explained as simply the workings of electrical current and chemistry in the brain. In fact, it is impossible to prove they are merely electrical currents.

We can hypothesise that there is something called a soul, but it is difficult to find evidence.

There is so much research to be done to gain insight into the Big questions.

 

[Freezer]

Certainly genetics make up the physical 'us', and no doubt have some sort of influence on our thinking, though to what degree I'm not sure.

It's interesting how various forms of music and art, for example, and the various emotions, differ so widely between individuals, without a clear scientific/physical reason as to why.

I'm not sure any amount of investigation/research will ever be able to determine the answers to the two ultimate questions - why are we here, and why am I me?

 

[evo]

I'm not sure any amount of investigation/research will ever be able to determine the answers to the two ultimate questions - why are we here, and why am I me?

'Why are we here?' is a false dilema.It presupposes there is a reason.3 millenia plus of theistic indoctrination that there is in fact a 'reason' is hard for alot of people to shake.


"What makes me,me" is a good question though.

 

[Disco08]

That's actually not true. You have to understand the meaning of the words used in His prophecy here to gain the true meaning. I can explain it to you tomorrow when I have more time.

Keen to here your interpretation of these verses still Jay.

 

[Six Pack]

Phew, just got thru another godless day. Looking forward to another one tomorrow!

 

[evo]

Time is an artificial construct.

There is no tommorrow.

 

[Six Pack]

Time is an artificial construct.

There is no tommorrow.

point noted, Evo, but i have to apply these artifices to make sure i get outa bed.

 

[evo]

Yes,the mundane world impinges on us all.

Anyway, congrats on getting through another Godless day unscathed.

If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it squarely, I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life - and only then will I be free to become myself.
Martin Heidegger

 

[Disco08]

I'm puzzled (not unusual I know), why do we (and everything else) age if time is an artificial construct?

 

[evo]

I'm puzzled (not unusual I know), why do we (and everything else) age if time is an artificial construct?

Time is not a thing, thus nothing which is, and yet it remains constant in its passing away without being something temporal like the beings in time.
Martin Heidegger

 

[Six Pack]

it's cos we give things names and patterns and systems, yet we know not of these things.

 

[Disco08]

Yes but not everything with a name is artificially constructed.

 

[Six Pack]

but cos we dont really know them, we apply whatever we have to try and explain them. thats artificial.

 

[Tiger74]

I'm puzzled (not unusual I know), why do we (and everything else) age if time is an artificial construct?

You mustn't be married.


Why do married men die before their wives?  They want to.  :hihi

 

[Disco08]

thats artificial.

yeah the name is artificial, but the thing, or process isn't, is it?

 

[evo]

yeah the name is artificial, but the thing, or process isn't, is it?

If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.
Rene Descartes

they have an answer for everything! ;D

 

[Disco08]

Can't say I've been able to do it in the sense I think Rene is speaking, but I do understand that one. It appeals to my willingness to discount possibilities when looking for the truth (of more 'normal' things).

Time is not a thing, thus nothing which is, and yet it remains constant in its passing away without being something temporal like the beings in time.
Martin Heidegger

I've tried but I'm not getting how this implies or states that time is an artificial construct.

 

[AngryAnt]

I've tried but I'm not getting how this implies or states that time is an artificial construct.

I can't see that time is an artificial construct but the way we look at and manage time is definitely a cultural construct.

Consider many southeast Asian cultures - "rubber time" in Indonesia means that it is normal and accepted to be late by half to one hour. Try this in Germany and see how this would impact on your social and professional life.

Time is not a thing, thus nothing which is, and yet it remains constant in its passing away without being something temporal like the beings in time.
Martin Heidegger

This is more difficult.

 

[evo]

I've tried but I'm not getting how this implies or states that time is an artificial construct.

You might find this interesting.'Time' isn't a simple as you may have thought.

No 9 refers to what i'm talking about.


http://www.iep.utm.edu/t/time.htm
NB.If Betrand Russel and Quinne oppose the idea,then it's probably true. ;D

 

[Six Pack]

My mother works with the Sudanese people in a country town and she often refers to 'Sudanese time.'