Re: Is consciousness real?

From: <equinox9.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2001 14:09:25 -0800

----- Original Message -----
From: <hal.domain.name.hidden>
To: <everything-list.domain.name.hidden>; <hal.domain.name.hidden.org>; <j.domain.name.hidden.co.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 12:08 PM
Subject: Re: Is consciousness real?


> James Higgo writes:
> > Consciousness - a flow of related thoughts in time - does not exist, any
> > more than time itself exists. All that exists of 'you' is this very
present
> > thought.
> >
> > This simple view solves all known paradoxes of consciousness, fits with
what
> > we know of the world, and is, incidentally, in concord with Buddhist
> > philosophy. You can even be happy if you believe it; believing it forces
you
> > to live in the present.
>
> This solves all the problems, does it? What about the question of
> whether something, say an animal or a fetus, is conscious or not?
> Should I treat conscious and unconscious entities the same?
>
> And if consciousness doesn't exist, does that mean suffering doesn't
> exist either? Should we not care about slavery, torture and other
> institutions that cause human suffering?
>
> I think you have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.
>
> Hal


Hal,
Go back and re-read -EXACTLY- what James is saying.

>All that exists of 'you' is this very present thought.

Re-read it, look at it, contemplate it, meditate on it, think upon it, dwell
on it .......then tell me if this statement is true or false.

Take care....
Martin.

BTW ---IF you see the validity of this statement, you will move into an
entirely different "universe" then you will ever have experienced in your
life.
Received on Thu Jan 18 2001 - 14:37:48 PST