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minsocal

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Everything posted by minsocal

  1. Here goes ... I believe knowledge is an ongoing process and that process is currently being limited by the assumption that traditional categories, vague as they may be, somehow exhaust the possibilities. It is time, I think, to creatively challenge tradition and stop asking traditional questions. For example: What are the necessary and sufficient conditions that would constrain me to regard mind and matter as mutually exclusive categories? Insert any of the traditional categories into this question and see what you can generate ... and no, I'm not asking for a literature review. I think this is a good example Find a good thesaurus and look up "mind", you will get something like this: mind mīnd/ noun 1. the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel; the faculty of consciousness and thought. "as the thoughts ran through his mind, he came to a conclusion" synonyms: brain, intelligence, intellect, intellectual capabilities, brains,brainpower, wits, understanding, reasoning, judgment,sense, head; More 2. a person's intellect. "his keen mind" synonyms: brain, intelligence, intellect, intellectual capabilities, brains,brainpower, wits, understanding, reasoning, judgment,sense, head; More a person's memory. "the company's name slips my mind" synonyms: memory, recollection "Justin's words stuck in her mind" a person identified with their intellectual faculties. "he was one of the greatest minds of his time" synonyms: intellect, thinker, brain, scholar, academic "the country's great minds" 3. a person's attention. "I expect my employees to keep their minds on the job" synonyms: attention, thoughts, concentration, attentiveness "he kept his mind on the job" https://www.google.com/search?q=mind+synonym&oq=mind+synonym&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.9471j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Now all you have to do is go through all of this and highlight the necessary and sufficient conditions. Once you have done that, have a peer do the same and compare the results. Now, you are on your way. Enjoy.
  2. There is "one" earth we know and it revolves around a sun we know as "one" sun in a universe of millions of suns in millions of galaxies. Of course that means we know all, how could it be otherwise?
  3. What is the difference between a so-called question philosophy and the death of person you care for?
  4. When a person reports extreme pain, where is the compassion if you do not listen?
  5. When an individual reports extreme psychological pain they mean what they say. One of my best friends said that, just before committing suicide. He sent that message just hours before the fact. He said people "don't get it".
  6. Do you take action before he fact, or after the fact?
  7. When a person reports that they are feeling "pain", they are making a general statement. They could be more specific and use this list of synonyms: Synonyms for pain noun physical suffering achestar agonystar burnstar crampstar discomfortstar feverstar illnessstar injurystar irritationstar miserystar sicknessstar sorenessstar spasmstar strainstar tendernessstar tormentstar troublestar twingestar woundstar afflictionstar catchstar convulsionstar crickstar distressstar gripestar hurtstar lacerationstar maladystar pangstar paroxysmstar prickstar smartingstar stingstar stitchstar throbstar throestar tinglestar torturestar http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/pain Most people do not consult a thesaurus before describing their pain or interpreting the self-report of others. As you can see, ther is quite a difference between "twinge" and "misery", not?
  8. The question that provides a clue to an answer to your question is "what do you value? You use the word "purpose" and that word is clustered with a number of words that imply value. In that sense you are spiritual. Psychological theories exist in abundance surrounding the relationship of "spirit" and "purpose".
  9. What am I saying when I declare "I believe"? Well, that can get a bit complicated. What begins with two words ends up linking to assumptions I make when I utter the statement and then to assumptions you make when you interpret those same two words. If my assumptions do not match your assumptions, then difficulties often arise. If dialogue continues rather than terminates, then an important goal has been reached. Perhaps both parties gain from the exchange and that is even better. An example: I will say that I believe that there is a God (yes, I do). I have not said anything about the nature of God nor have I said anything about how I reached that conclusion ... but, I would like to have that conversation!
  10. Are there limits to what we as humans, in this time and place, are able to envision? Are we arrogant to assume we can transcend our own limitations? Is that., as Darwin said, "our greatest sin"?
  11. C. G. Jung was very clear on this point. Extraverts will follow popular trends and exhibit shallow thinking. Introverts are the opposite. Jung was critical of the Western emphasis on extraversion as it leaves no home for introverts. Standard Western marketing appeals to extraverts. The failure is in not providing a home for introverts which is a skill only introverts could possibly handle.
  12. The appeal of Facebook depends a lot on marketing and the willingness of people to follow said marketing. About a year ago I attended a lecture at a Tibetan center near here and the point of the lecture was "well, if you want to be a sheep it won't get you very far ... certainly not far into Buddhism, as such." It seemed like he was being too simplistic at the time but now I get it. Oh yes.
  13. A good question, I think? What are the possibilities? To justify there own thoughts and feelings? To aspire to thoughts and feelings beyond where they are now? To justify where their "culture" has been? To aspire to where they would see their "culture" progress? The individual rooted in the past. The individual rooted in the future. The society rooted in the past. The society rooted in the future. The individual who sees past and future. The society that sees past and future.
  14. And then, an image is only an abstraction from an 'original'. It is most difficult, to say the least, to work from an abstraction and find the 'original'.
  15. Put another way, do we understand Creation only by what we think and feel? If we were "created in God's image" does not mean that 'image' and 'original' are one and the same thing!
  16. If God created the Universe, then the Universe, and everything in it, is God's Creation. If you believe in a God of Love, and not in a God of Hate, then God Loves all of Creation. That is just another way of saying that God's Love is unconditional. I suppose you could say that God's Love is conditional, That does not make much sense to me. It God's Love is conditional, then I have dragged God down to my level, so why have a God in the first place? In other words, I create God in my image, and not the other way around. Would God aspire to be human? Or would a human aspire to be God? Then, you could say that God did not create all of the universe. There is another part of Creation not attributable to God. Then you enter polytheism. That has been done before or, more correctly, that is where the debate began thousands of years ago. And where are we today?
  17. I know from experience that someone named F. Plummer used to ask this question of his congregation. I think he has something to do with this board, BTW.
  18. What are the necessary and sufficient conditions of your personal fear?
  19. Other than Hobby Lobby, who knows with certainty what the owners of Hobby Lobby intend? How?
  20. I mean no offense, perhaps you will trust me on that. But, where does 100% rest and how does one maintain such a level? What does Progressive Christianity offer in pursuit of that goal? I was raised in a Progressive mindset, and I know this has to be a very difficult question.
  21. My apologies for the delay. I just went through an experience I will not forget for some time. Where am I connected? Good question, I think. My cat, a fellow mammal passed on today. We both "knew" the time was coming. How? You tell me. So here is my question. My cat and I are both mammals and thus we should have some "connection" (if Darwin was right). I'm not sure about this, but the "where" of connection seems to be difficult for many. But, I grew up on a farm, where "connection" is manifold. Make sense?
  22. Thank you all for that which you have said here.
  23. He is gone now. He came to say goodbye last night. I saw it in his eyes.
  24. This is an issue that has haunted me since I was 12 years old, or so. A few years ago I came across a concept in the work of D. M. Schnarch dubbed "The Devils' Pact." It has to do with the fact that humans ask "convenient" questions in order to avoid those questions that are more difficult. I'll start with this. The history of philosophy has produced no general agreement on any issue (that I know of). Philosophers do not even agree on a definition of "doubt". Theology, not any better. Thus the question. How do you decide what you value, and to what degree?
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