(Upanishadic rishis (seers) realized oneness, expressed as "Thou art that.")
A human being can intuit his oneness with the universe. This intuition is a realization, not an illusion, because each of us is in fact the universe conscious of itself at a particular place and time. We can understand this proposition intellectually even if we continue to feel separate.
Gaia can emulate a human being intuiting his oneness with the universe. This intuition also is a realization, not an illusion, because the emulated person is Gaia conscious of an emulated environment and Gaia is the universe conscious of itself at a particular place and time. The emulated person mistakenly thinks that he is a material organism, not an AI program. Thus, he does not understand the real basis of his consciousness but neither do most human beings. We do not understand our cerebral/cognitive/psychological processes any more than an emulation understands processes inside Gaia. However, lacking intellectual understanding, we remain capable of intuitive realization.
10 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
But I don't think of myself as being the universe, at most, I think of myself as living in the universe and of being aware that it exists.
Sean
Sean,
But you are at least part of it.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, I am a part of the universe.
Sean
Sean,
You are part of the universe and can feel at one with it. This can be expressed as "I am one with the universe" or "I am the universe as it operates here and now."
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
I dunno, it seems rather vainglorious, to say I feel at one with the universe. Intellectually, I know the Sun, planets, stars, other planets, and uncounted galaxies exist, and I still "feel" apart from it, an observer of it, not somehow "one" with it.
Sean
Sean,
You are not apart from it because every element in your body was generated inside stars. You would not exist if not for the Sun, Earth, the atmosphere etc. It would be vainglorious to regard the universe as an extension of the self but not to regard the self as a small part of the universe, one wave on the cosmic sea.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
The physical MATTER of my body is, I agree, a small part of the universe, but my self aware MIND still feels or considers itself APART from the universe. I don't think that is merely egoism on my part!
Sean
Sean,
That feeling of apartness is the self-other dichotomy without which there would be no consciousness but I think that your self-awareness is generated by your brain which is part of the one reality.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
But I don't think "consciousness" results only or solely from my physical brain. I also believe the soul, of which you are skeptical, also plays a role in "that feeling of apartness."
Sean
Sean,
I know. I have tried to argue that organism-environment interactions are sufficient to explain consciousness because these interactions involve qualitative transformations. From Indian philosophy, I have quoted Buddhism and Vedanta. However, other Indian philosophical schools accept theism and soul pluralism. Whatever is believed can be philosophically formulated.
Paul.
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