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Good Morning Friends,
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today is Saturday June 6, 2009
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If I am not mistaken, today is another famous war date. But, I am not interested in war today at all.... Friends, I do a lot of thinking about the big issues, the issues that I consider to be big that is.
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Now, what can be more huge than something like consciousness? This thing, whatever it is, is the reason you are able to read and to think about what I am writing here. Your consciousness and mine are interpreting reality for us at this very moment. And, this consciousness thing lives inside of our brains.
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That is all they really know about this phenomenon you know - that it emanates inside of our brain. I would say therefore that consciousness, in the first instance, is something that is composed of matter. It is just a combination of atoms and energy, working together to analyze data and to bring that data back to us and to describe it for us. So, what it is? I mean, aren't you just slightly curious? Do you have your own interpretation perhaps?
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I am thinking right now. I am conscious of my surroundings; I am receiving sense data; I am able to see and describe objects around me; I am able to visualize a person or an idea. I can do all of these things with my brain and the consciousness that is contained within that brain.
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I think you would agree that consciousness most likely dies when we die. So, that means that consciousness must have something to do with life. Life being described of course as that which involves living, meaning that our organs are working and that we are breathing and our blood is circulating, etc. Our functioning body is doing all kinds of things and while it is doing all of these things it is conscious of what it is doing. So, once again consciousness is on the scene and performing an active role. But, consciousness is only active when the body is alive; a live body can produce consciousness.
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But, living is really just a totality of things occuring together as well. We are formed of the matter of the earth; the earth is the same thing as the rest of us. Yet, we do not say that the earth has consciousness. How come it does not have a conscience and consciousness if it is the exact same thing as the rest of us? I have written in other parts of my blog that rocks have the ability to think, and they do. Now, maybe not just a single rock doing some thinking, but rocks, taken together with other matter would certainly have that ability I think you would agree. Rocks, just like us are made up of the elements of the earth. Maybe this where somebody got the idea for a pet rock. Well, it is a thought isn't it?
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.The whole world and the whole universe is just a bunch of atoms or matter; it is the basis of all existence and all life. The great debate between philosophers is between idealism and materialism. I like to think of myself as a materialist. If you have studied philosophy at all you will know that religious people and those who believe in something like Christianity are idealists. They believe in the primacy of the idea. God is an idea and He has existed forever; He is even greater than matter itself and is in fact responsible for the creation of matter. Do you think that is a reasonable assumption to make? Well, I personally have some problems with that kind of thinking because it involves the idea of creating something out of nothing, which is of course, an absurdity. But, in the end, it might be the only explanation that we have to figure things out - if you cannot comprehend the concept of infinity, that is.
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But, anyway returning to the issue at hand, namely consciousness. My consciousness and my brain allowed me to construct that last paragraph and the ideas contained within it. Do you think a god did that for me or do you think that it was matter itself which has that capabability? And, if it was matter itself then where did it acquire the ability to formulate an idea? What planted that idea in my mind? Friends these are the issues of philosophers and these are the kinds of things that consume my mind. So, I hope you are understanding my character at least by me revealing my interests to you. I have no idea what consciousness is at base. It is just that thing which enables me to interpret reality. It is no more than that. I think that it has a material base however. And, it looks like a pretty neat thing all things considered. And, the thing that makes it all the more impressive is the fact that we all have a conscience and a consciousness and that we can talk about it together. We, as humans can do that; we have evolved into that state. Or, if you are a Christian of course then you believe that God created us and gave us this ability. Now, it could have been God that started this whole thing, or it could just be Nature herself who is responsible. ( Pantheism ) Remember, we are the exact same thing as nature; we are made of the same things. So, theoretically dear friends that means, that given a unique set of conditions there may indeed be other consciousnessess out there; things able to interpret reality in their own way that is. That is consciouness in a nutshell dear friends - it is simply matter that is aware of its environment; i.e. matter that is aware of itself. That is about as close to an explanation as I can provide for you at this time. So, the next time you walk past a rock you might want to consider just what that rock is thinking about. Now, that rock or his friends might not be able to communicate with us, but they might be doing some serious thinking, especially those big rocks called mountains. ....Just kidding folks, I need to see a bit more evidence that rocks and mountains have the same kinds of abilities as the rest of us. But, now that I think about it rocks do have veins do they not?
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Thanks for reading and have a nice day. And, don't forget, today is a racing day. So, if you are popping into town don't be afraid to say hello. Here is the song of the day for you. I think I will stick with 1967 since that is where I am at in the main part of my blog. Here is a snappy little song that I would have liked:
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Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
- Jimmy Mack
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1967
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