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Originally Posted by ShiningLight  Sorry Michael, what you're saying makes sense, but I'm having trouble understanding how that relates to your overall thread.  |
It doesn't. I was just explaining where the "end of existence" notion was built from.
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Originally Posted by ShiningLight I beg to differ. The human body is an amazing organism made up of billions of cells each doing their part to make sure that everything runs smoothly. "mundane and minor" are two words I would not use to describe it. "Miraculous and magnificent" yes! |
True, but in doing that, you start to run out of words when you scale up.
If the economy of a single body is miraculous, then what's the economy of nations and galaxies?
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Originally Posted by ShiningLight Ah, but is the brain the controller, or is it the consciousness? And would a cell view its life as being "held in thrall and tyranny?"  |
My cells would.
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Originally Posted by ShiningLight The why could be anything we want it to be. Just as you can see the human body as mundane and I can see it as miraculous.
Am I answering your question? |
It sounds to me like you're saying the answer is whatever we want it to be. I'm not sure I agree with that.
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Originally Posted by Iksander What if identity were fluid? |
Interestingly, he argued that quite a bit.
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Originally Posted by Iksander Identities possess traits, some traits cannot coexist with some other traits; therefore divergent identities must exist. People possess identity, some identities possess traits that cannot coexist with some identities that possess some traits; therefore people with differing identities cannot coexist. |
Well, that's a non sequitur. While it may be true that some identities cannot coexist with other identities, it doesn't seem at all true. He argues that even apparently paradoxical traits, such as an optimistic pessimist, is built on a fast switch back and forth. So the pessimist flips into an optimist for a moment based on some stimulus, and flips back to pessimism afterwards.