Viewing 40 posts - 81 through 120 (of 121 total)
  • Whats your outlook on life…why are we here ?
  • Peyote
    Free Member

    Does the computer then have a soul or a heart?

    Good question, probably at some point they do. When they start thinking about their own existence outside of their immediate environment, wants and needs.

    RE: Chemicals and emotions, yes I’ve seen some of the research on these, serotonin etc. But are these (emotions) an indicator of consciousness? Are they even linked? A psychopath/sociopath devoid of ‘normal’ feelings still exhibits signs of consciousness, labotomy victims – similar. Emotions and consciousness/sentience are two seperate things in my book.

    cfinnimore
    Free Member

    I have no idea what’s going on but I refuse to waste valuable time ruminating on the meaning on life.

    I will hopefully just not be disappointed in my performance on earth by thr time I die.

    unfitgeezer
    Free Member

    Mr Woppit – Member

    Ah – so, what are you anxious about, geezer?

    Health (getting cancer etc), mortality my wife’s mortality, my children… loosing a parent as a child has caused most of this sh 1 tty anxiety…and some days I wish it would just go and f off

    so some days I question what the heck its all about

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middlin...
    Latest Singletrack Videos
    molgrips
    Free Member

    But are these (emotions) an indicator of consciousness? Are they even linked?

    Consciousness doesn’t really have a definition, does it?

    Is it the same as sentience?

    so some days I question what the heck its all about

    It’s about what you want it to be about. There’s no external plan.

    As for the anxiety, that’s just cortisol, another chemical floating about in your brain. If you understand that you can start learn to ignore it, and it’ll probably go away 🙂

    slowoldman
    Full Member

    Consciousness doesn’t really have a definition, does it?

    Quite. So let’s make up a fairy story to explain it. Ooh I know, the soul. It lives on independently after our death (a bit like a parasite looking for a new host).

    MrWoppit
    Free Member

    I sense that you wish there was something more than the obvious, to make you feel that it’s all more “worthwhile”?

    In answer to the idea that there is no “meaning” to existence, a physicist and atheist (who’s name I cannot now recall – it’s too long ago) said “Yes, life is meaningless, but so what? I can tell you I’m looking forward to a damn good dinner tonight!”

    Life is good. Being alive is challenging, interesting and occasionally pleasurable, especially if you ride bikes, eh?

    So there’s no “meaning”. So what?

    (Any view in the above that can be construed as “vile” is the responsibility of the author only).

    molgrips
    Free Member

    That’s the best thing you’ve ever written on STW Woppit.

    jivehoneyjive
    Free Member

    OK, so as far as we are aware, we are composed of the same matter that makes up the universe, albeit with a sentient consciousness; now, given that the scientific community is beginning to shed light on the universe being a holographic projection:

    http://www.nature.com/news/simulations-back-up-theory-that-universe-is-a-hologram-1.14328

    and there is countless human phenomena such as the placebo effect, intuition etc that are beyond scientific explanation, along with mentions of spiritual energy dating back millenia, such as qi, the soul or indeed the jedi force:

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GITb6rzpTWM[/video]

    could it be that we are able to shape the world around us and harness power of the universe with our thoughts and emotions?

    The Rice Experiment – This Will Blow Your Mind!

    and if that is indeed the case, could we in fact be living in a state of spiritual detachment, our energy harnessed for the benefit of dark and manipulative forces, whilst we are distracted by shiny things that demand our attention and toil, whilst choking the living planet which we inhabit, a bit like this:

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXK60prBI_w[/video]

    Or could it be, by modern devices freeing us of much of the physical toil of yesteryear and giving rise to global consciousness through communication, we are bringing about a new era of next level spirituality which could heal previous flaws in our nature?

    Flip knows, but if you bang one out in a sperm bank, then have children you don’t know about and have no interaction with, have you fulfilled your primary programming?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    and there is countless human phenomena such as the placebo effect, intuition etc that are beyond scientific explanation

    Those things are not beyond scientific explanation at all.

    brooess
    Free Member

    I’m here because my parents weren’t satisfied with my older brother 😀

    In the meantime, make the best of the opportunities on offer while you can, and just because you can…

    BillMC
    Full Member

    Procreation, eating and drinking seem to be major motive forces. I have always aimed to be Mr Natural by serial trouser indiscipline, gluttony and swimming in a sea of beer. Like with my allotment,however, I do try to leave the place a bit better than when I entered it. The afterlife is what you’ve done for others.

    muppetWrangler
    Free Member

    The afterlife is what you’ve done for others.

    I like that.

    arrpee
    Free Member
    slackalice
    Free Member

    Excellent thread, too much for me to select some interesting points worthy of further discussion 🙂

    My current view is that I / we are here to experience and observe the Universe from the Human perspective with all that that entails (which is a lot). I regard this Human experience to be but one of very many ways with which I / we shall experience and observe the Universe, sentient, conscious or otherwise.

    I also feel that we Humans are very good at experiencing and observing things differently, which kinda takes us on very many same same but different Universes. We create our experiences just as much as we each create our own Universe. No right, no wrong, they are true for each of us. As are our views, opinions and beliefs 😉

    Can’t remember where I was originally going with this, so there you go… 😀

    MrSalmon
    Free Member

    There’s no point or meaning to any of it- we’re just an outcome of the way a few things turned out.

    Personally I think the universe is full of amazing things, and there are some things that give me a nice warm glow, and I don’t think these things are diminished at all by not having some higher purpose.

    jivehoneyjive
    Free Member

    Whilst we’re on this profound level of questioning, what are peoples thoughts…

    is the planet as a whole a living thing?

    neilco
    Free Member

    Shit, people think too much. There’s no need to theorise when life is here right now. Grab it.

    Me? I’m here to add something. Maybe I make someone smile on a miserable commute by a simple act of kindness. Maybe my wife and I raise a happy, content child. Maybe I am lucky to have a good job and the taxes I pay contribute towards a school or a hospital. Maybe I run a successful company and employ ten people and give them opportunities they otherwise might not have. Maybe I have a ride and a beer with a mate whose life is going to shit, and we have a laugh in an otherwise not great time. Maybe I lead my industry and help others to help others.

    All examples, maybe true or not, but if I can run a life where I take a lot out through the experiences I am lucky enough to have, yet put more back in, then I will be pretty happy when my time comes.

    gordimhor
    Full Member

    “Are we having fun yet?”

    rone
    Full Member

    To experience the physicality of life.

    And until we get a decent scientific explanation as to why a ‘big bang’ came out of nothing, I’m not taking ‘chance’ as a decent reason for anything.

    Jamie
    Free Member

    is the planet as a whole a living thing?

    I was wondering when we would get to Gaia theory.

    Rorschach
    Free Member

    rureadyboots
    Free Member

    Graham’s number is fun but infinity is funnier.

    matther01
    Free Member

    Jivehoneyjive – do you mean like mother nature or some sort of sentient being?

    I’d have to agree that we’re here just to multiply…unfortunately we’re becoming more of a parasite and are slowly destroying the planet through over reproduction and greed (in terms of natural resources).

    Shame really that we are slowly but surely bringing about our own demise.

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    I think Mr Salmon has nailed it. There is no point to it. Its all a result of a collection of discreet things, elements, conditions that happened, against astronomical odds, to coincide at the right time under the right conditions for life to occur and evolve to the point where we are now questioning what the point it. In a few million years (in the blink of an eye in the universe time scales) we’ll not be here and it’ll all be irrelevant.

    Questioning why is a human trait in an inhumane universe. We seem to need some form of comfort in knowing that things happen for a reason and continually look for reason where they probably is none. I will ponder this question further when on my bike tomorrow!….Maybe.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    is the planet as a whole a living thing?

    Possibly, because it’s hard to define ‘a living thing’. Life can be described as having the ability to reproduce – the Earth does not, but it does self-preserve. Sort of. There are

    The film Avatar was mostly dross but there was a lovely idea in it that was glossed over. The trees on the planet being interconnected acting like neurons in a giant brain.. meaning the planet could be a person, if only you could figure out how to talk to it.

    jivehoneyjive
    Free Member

    Jivehoneyjive – do you mean like mother nature or some sort of sentient being?

    A bit of both really… certainly the synergy of the planet encourages and sustains life and there is a vastly complex interaction between all the various elements that allows this.

    However, though we speculate and call things fact for a fleeting time until the next hypothesis comes along, we don’t actually now a great deal about what is under our feet; a 30 mile journey sounds pretty basic in this day and age, but if you were to bore 30 miles through the earths crust, you’d be a somewhat charred pioneer; what energy sustains the heat of the earths mantle? What lies at the planets core? How is it that the tectonic plates have self sustaining animation?

    Now of course, there is several perfectly reasonable scientific explanations for all these questions, however, much of science is simply educated guesses, which may or may not reflect the truth in it’s entirety.

    What if Volcanoes are really just angry infections on a tiny part of a greater whole? What if the solar system is effectively just a molecule and the galaxy is just a cell? What if no matter how diminutive our physical form, our spiritual form has the power to harness this greater whole?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    what energy sustains the heat of the earths mantle?

    Radioactivity and residual heat

    What lies at the planets core?

    Iron

    How is it that the tectonic plates have self sustaining animation?

    Convection cells.

    There’s a lot of science out there – the more you read, the better your pontificating can be 🙂

    much of science is simply educated guesses

    Yeah some of it is, but there’s a lot that’s very verifiable from different angles. I think a lot of the non-scientific world think scientists just make up a load of cool sounding rubbish – they don’t.

    jivehoneyjive
    Free Member

    Everything you say sounds perfectly reasonable Molgrips, but you present it as outright fact…

    for example, an Iron core is a theory, not an undisputed fact; we humans like certainty, as the unknown is challenging and scary, but it’s foolish to grasp on to ‘facts’ simply because discovery’s have yet to be made.

    What is it that binds the universe together?

    Can we be sure of the nature of far away stars, or is it simply based on our fledgling knowledge of our limited local environment?…

    What is the nature of the energy that animates our cells for as long as they will sustain ‘life?’…

    slowoldman
    Full Member

    an Iron core is a theory, not an undisputed fact

    You you sure? I mean OK I’ve not been down there myself to take a look but…

    yunki
    Free Member

    We are here solely to freak the funktacular 😐

    neil_1979
    Free Member

    My outlook; As an atheist, we are born with nothing (except love from our family), and we take nothing with us when we die, everything in life is borrowed, to be looked after, cared for and passed on. When we die we continue to exist only in the memories of the people we have known and through the values that we pass on to our families and friends.

    I find it enlightening and uplifting to think that this is it. Experience as much as possible, do the things that make you happy, have empathy for other people, try and leave things better than when you found them.

    IMO people that believe in any kind of afterlife are completely missing the point, kind of like never dancing at a party because they’re always waiting for a better song to come on, then leaving slightly disappointed at the end of the night because the better songs weren’t played. Embrace and enjoy it for what it is.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Well now we come to the definition of fact. There’s no such thing really, just an acceptable standard of proof, for the individual. I’m prepared to accept what I’ve read about geology, because of what I’ve read and been taught about other scientific processes involved. I also read about how these people came to add evidence to their theories, and I think about their experiments and reasoning.

    There is evidence for the iron core theory. Perhaos read up on it?

    but it’s foolish to grasp on to ‘facts’

    Scientists do NOT do ‘certainty’. You run the risk of insulting scientists through lack of understanding. No scientist presents anything as fact, they talk about experiments, results and conclusions. A theory gains evidence, that’s all it does.

    However for some reason elements of the general public seem to resent this, and imagine that they are high-falutin’ know-it-alls just waiting to be brought back down to earth. It’s really not true.

    What is it that binds the universe together?

    Gravity, by definition, but I suspect you see that question somewhat differently to me.

    Can we be sure of the nature of far away stars, or is it simply based on our fledgling knowledge of our limited local environment?.

    Pretty confident, yes. If 1+1 = 2 on earth, then 1+1 = 2 around alpha centauri too.

    jivehoneyjive
    Free Member

    What is it that binds the universe together?

    Gravity, by definition, but I suspect you see that question somewhat differently to me.

    Aye, truth be told, I just want Yoda to be right 😆

    ernie_lynch
    Free Member

    Pretty confident, yes. If 1+1 = 2 on earth, then 1+1 = 2 around alpha centauri too.

    Only if there is a human somewhere in the universe to count 1+1 on alpha centauri.

    Maths is a product of the human mind, it does not exist.

    Maths is created, not discovered. Maths is a story. If there is no one to tell the story it does not exist.

    Wipe out all humans and maths will no longer exist.

    And 1+1 won’t equal 2 around alpha centauri.

    But bumble bees will still be able to fly.

    Your “pretty confident” is based on faith, not science.

    sbob
    Free Member

    Maths is a language, and whilst it may have been created, the subject always existed.
    1+1 will always equal 2, the same as the grass is still the colour it is even if you don’t know the word green.

    buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    It’s easy to mathematically demonstrate that 1 + 1 = 1

    1 + 1 = 1

    😉

    crankboy
    Free Member

    Except 1+1=1 does not even make since visually at least 1+1=11 looks right .

    Maths by it’s very nature is pure and always the same if I show my son 5 rocks and 7 rocks there are still the same number even though he can’t add up to 13 . The total remains even if you count and add in a different language or calculate using a different number base such as binary.

    MrWoppit
    Free Member

    That’s the best thing you’ve ever written on STW Woppit.

    Hi Thankyew.

    I admire the way you continue to try and explain what “science” is to those who think it’s just scientists making things up, molgrips. I’m sure there’s an entry in Wikipedia you could signpost to save yourself the bother, eh?

    Shameless self-promotion – please visit my Just Giving page here: Ride 100.

    Edit: Pithy and direct though it was, I thought the classic Occam’s Razor of the directional cable manifesto had more of a ring. 😉

    teasel
    Free Member

    At bottom, every man knows perfectly well that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvellously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.

    I like that. Helps explain why there is no definitive answer to the question.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I admire the way you continue to try and explain what “science” is to those who think it’s just scientists making things up, molgrips.

    Thanks – but it’s a personal thing – I’m a scientist after all 🙂

    Only if there is a human somewhere in the universe to count 1+1 on alpha centauri.

    I disagree. We won’t call it 1+1 and we won’t write it like that, but maths is a language used to describe fundamentals. Without humans those fundamentals are still there. (EDIT what sbob said)

    Your “pretty confident” is based on faith, not science.

    Yes, the word ‘confident’ implies faith. But it’s faith in the science. I have faith that the methods we use for learning how to analyse and describe the world are good. That faith comes from evidence that I deem to be acceptable.

Viewing 40 posts - 81 through 120 (of 121 total)

The topic ‘Whats your outlook on life…why are we here ?’ is closed to new replies.