If There Were No Consciousness What Would Be The Point Of Material Existence?

a reply to: MissSmartypants

Well more so MissSmartypants I was following how you stated if all objects were inanimate. (which they are not) and I was visualizing all the universes components following that premise as inanimate objects. Which is what made me say energy since the objects were inanimate and in lack of kinetic energy and so where just stored potential energy for later usage

originally posted by: Blarneystoner
a reply to: MissSmartypants

Is existence predicated upon being "material"?

What is the definition of "non-material"?

What's "Love" got to do with it?

These are questions that have been asked since the dawn of self awareness.....

Existence exists outside the material world as well. Non material is the realm where pure love exists and we are to manifest that love as best we can here in the physical.

originally posted by: Ophiuchus 13
a reply to: MissSmartypants

Well more so MissSmartypants I was following how you stated if all objects were inanimate. (which they are not) and I was visualizing all the universes components following that premise as inanimate objects. Which is what made me say energy since the objects were inanimate and in lack of kinetic energy and so where just stored potential energy for later usage

I guess what I meant by inanimate was"nonliving". Obviously the nonliving parts of the universe are in constant motion and interacting with each other.

originally posted by: MissSmartypants

Existence exists outside the material world as well. Non material is the realm where pure love exists and we are to manifest that love as best we can here in the physical.

Oh.... Didn't realize that we were going there.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

The point/purpose is actualizing/experiencing potential. The point is everything that is possible to do that you would not be able to do/experience if you did not exist. This is the obvious motivation, point, purpose, of being.

originally posted by: ImaFungi
There would be no purpose, there can only be purpose with 'an awareness' that can 'be' 'aware' of 'purpose'. Most likely do to the nature of material, energy, time, and being, the awarenesses most direct purpose, will be to do what is necessary to maintain aware. Reality is a genius. I dont know how many times it had to try, or how many times its succeeded, but somehow, some hows, it has formulated into this massive systems of planets and stars, the planets of which have formulated on them, material conglomerations of consciousness. To be or not to be. If eternally it was promised that there would never have been and never be any single consciousness ever, then nothing would ever be known, or done, or felt, etc. It is pure wonderful splendor and inspirational graciousness, that reality is so perfect as to create such the formulation to allow, not only one or two conscious entities to exist, but quintillions, and not only can they play simple games and not only are they more advancly constructed than of stick figures, but they can do everything you have ever known humans and animals to do, and much much more.

Yes but would there be a thing or an entity that would be aware of the universe if life would never exist?

originally posted by: ImaFungi
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

The point/purpose is actualizing/experiencing potential. The point is everything that is possible to do that you would not be able to do/experience if you did not exist. This is the obvious motivation, point, purpose, of being.

I was just thinking about you as you were posting. Gotta love that synchronicity. And "actualizing potential", I like that and plan to ponder it some more. Thx.

originally posted by: ImaFungi
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

The point/purpose is actualizing/experiencing potential. The point is everything that is possible to do that you would not be able to do/experience if you did not exist. This is the obvious motivation, point, purpose, of being.

YES! ..because everything exists in superposition until collapsed upon by an observer or interaction. That is the concept I was trying to convey with the Tree falling question.

originally posted by: Blarneystoner

originally posted by: ImaFungi
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

The point/purpose is actualizing/experiencing potential. The point is everything that is possible to do that you would not be able to do/experience if you did not exist. This is the obvious motivation, point, purpose, of being.

YES! ..because everything exists in superposition until collapsed upon by an observer or interaction. That is the concept I was trying to convey with the Tree falling question.

Observation OR INTERACTION. Finally someone gets it.

originally posted by: Blarneystoner
originally posted by: MissSmartypants

Existence exists outside the material world as well. Non material is the realm where pure love exists and we are to manifest that love as best we can here in the physical.

Oh.... Didn't realize that we were going there.

I should have added the words "I think" there at the end. I'm just trying to get people to help me figure this out.

originally posted by: ImaFungi
a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

The point/purpose is actualizing/experiencing potential. The point is everything that is possible to do that you would not be able to do/experience if you did not exist. This is the obvious motivation, point, purpose, of being.

This is the purpose we give to living, certainly. Because we are purpose driven. Without purpose, our ego lacks an anchor of identity.

Since experiences are, ahem....experiential, it would seem that it could all boil down to the eye of the beholder. But its an unprovable assertion.

a reply to: MissSmartypants

This is my view. Consciousness is external. The brain is a modem. And the struggle of humanity is the consciousness trying to corral the animal it lives within.

a reply to: MissSmartypants

"Observation" and "Interaction" are interchangeable in the context I'm operating from.... that the physical world as we know it, in essence doesn't exist without a mind to perceive it.

Your brain constructs the physical world based upon sensory input. That same physical world would appear much different if your sensory input was tuned to other frequencies, if you could see the full spectrum of light, for example.

I'm having a hard time inserting "love" into the equation though. It seems to be a different topic altogether. Not that I don't think it's important but....

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: MissSmartypants

This is my view. Consciousness is external. The brain is a modem. And the struggle of humanity is the consciousness trying to corral the animal it lives within.

I think the same...

Many philosophers have speculated as well... Descartes would be one.

a reply to: Blarneystoner

If a brain constructs reality, how does a brain construct itself? I was under the impression nothing could be its own cause.

originally posted by: Aphorism
a reply to: Blarneystoner

If a brain constructs reality, how does a brain construct itself? I was under the impression nothing could be its own cause.

I'll try to explain it... reality is merely a construct of your brain. Your brain receives stimulus in the form of chemical signals transmitted from your sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, fingers, etc...) Your brain "translates" those chemical signals and constructs them into reality. The brain doesn't perceive reality directly, it constructs a facsimile of reality based upon the sensory input it receives.

When you look at something, what you're really seeing is an internal model of the object, not the object itself.

Like watching a video..... you're not actually watching movement in the video. Individual pictures are flashed on the screen so rapidly that your brain knits them all together to give the illusion of movement.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
a reply to: MissSmartypants

This is my view. Consciousness is external. The brain is a modem. And the struggle of humanity is the consciousness trying to corral the animal it lives within.

Earlier I said the same thing only I said receiver instead of modem. And if our consciousness exists outside of ourselves does that imply our consciousness continuing on after our physical death, I.e. the afterlife?

a reply to: MissSmartypants

I think so. If the "soul" is eternal, then it has always existed and will continue to exist beyond the demise of your physical body.

a reply to: Blarneystoner

I'll try to explain it... reality is merely a construct of your brain. Your brain receives stimulus in the form of chemical signals transmitted from your sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, fingers, etc...) Your brain "translates" those chemical signals and constructs them into reality. The brain doesn't perceive reality directly, it constructs a facsimile of reality based upon the sensory input it receives.

I understand the age old argument you are putting forward. What I'm asking is, if the brain constructs physical reality, of which the brain, chemical signals, the body etc. are a part of, how is it able to do so if the brain too is a construct of the brain. If reality is the work of our brain, chemical signals, sensory organs, then our brain, chemical signals, and sensory organs are constructs of the brain, chemical signals and sensory organs. It's a reductio ad absurdem. How can a construct of reality construct reality?

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I guess that's my point. Purpose seems to be very important to us which makes it hard for me to conceive of a universe that came into existence with no purpose. And if there is a purpose for existence what is it and what conceived it?