Not to be confused: Tau Zero is a novel by Poul Anderson whereas Tau Ceti is a star.
Tau Ceti on:
- and in Anderson's "Terminal Quest," it took human beings forty years to travel to Tau Ceti which is twelve light-years away so this story is set in an Andersonian STL (slower than light) future like at least three others that we have discussed recently.
(Lessons in Lancaster history continue: there was a controversial murder trial in the family of a local Councillor just over a hundred years ago.)
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I don't think Socrates opinion makes sense. He seems to think we exist after death in a kind of dreamless sleep. Somehow we know we still exist even if we don't have dreams. I don't think I always have dreams while sleeping, but somehow I knew I exist.
Orthodox Christians don't believe either in what Socrates thought or that we are eternally snuffed out like a candle, never knowing we ever existed, etc., at death.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
Death and dreamless sleep have in common that, in both, our consciousness has ceased. In neither do we know anything.
Of course we know what Christians and also what adherents of other religions believe.
Paul.
We don't -remember- dreamless sleep, but our consciousness is still ticking over.
Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!
Paul: I am not entirely convinced my consciousness totally "ceases" when I have dreamless sleep.
Mr. Stirling: Ha! I would sleep better more often if my consciousness would relax from all that ticking over.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
I think that (i) the nature of consciousness and (ii) the relationship between being and consciousness are the two central questions of philosophy. I would be interested if you could indicate how your consciousness might not totally cease even during dreamless sleep.
Paul.
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