That's not a question.
I think aligning thought process to the way reality works is far more important that pitting poles against each other.
Materialist vs Spiritualist
- Thread starter Carcano
- Start date
That's not a question.
I think aligning thought process to the way reality works is far more important that pitting poles against each other.
Carcano
Valued Senior Member
I agree, but the basic questions of how reality works is preceeded by questions of what reality is comprised of....and for me there is no polar opposition.
That precendence sounds like a subjective limitation. That reality exists is self-evident. As we increase our visibility into its breadth or depth we learn more about 'how' it works and 'what' it is made out of simultaneously.
For example, we can now observe collections of galaxies or collections of atoms. IMO, there is likely a smallest building block and multiple objects it can react to differently. If something like M-theory is correct then strings would be the smallest component... that tiniest 'what'; allthough, I cannot even speculate in the other direction... what the largest 'what' might be (if that even applies).
Carcano
Valued Senior Member
Yes, Ive often wondered if the distance in both directions is infinite. Can we keep on dividing matter into smaller and smaller particles without end...does empty space extend forever???
In ancient times I imagine it was somewhat consoling to believe that one lived in the center of a finite world, surrounded by a starry dome, and presided over by a just pantheon of deities.
But now there is no center and no periphery, except the center is wherever you are somehow.
Allthough we don't know for sure, when dividing into smaller components there is probably a smallest component whose division leads to more of the same... just smaller. In other words when size becomes the only difference after a division, the smallest component has been reached.
Our universe has a finite size that fluctuates so empty space does not extende infinitely; although, the sum of what is outside the universe might not be finite (at least not in a spatial sense).
As the universe may be a structure within a much larger structure, I wonder if there is a largest possible structure?
I would imagine this to be the case; however, the trade-off is they valued feeling consoled more than they valued truth (which is normal for people).
Our universe would have a midpoint, but I don't think it's shape is that of a sphere so it would not be a very symmetrical midpoint.
I think the appropriate forum would be Philosophy.
This isn't about proving whther ghosts are real or not, it is about a philosophical position and mindset.
Carcano
Valued Senior Member
Well the 'para' in parapsychology means 'alongside'.
I see it as more of a hierarchy where the spiritual exists as a kind dormant potential, over and above the psychologies of scientific materialism.
What is philosophy or psychology without the spitirtual?
Do you remember the first scenes of Conan the Barbarian? Ive always loved the screenplay by John Milius and Oliver Stone.
Conan is a young boy sitting up in the mountains with his beloved father, who hands down the mythos of his people with these opening lines:
"Fire and wind come from the sky
From the Gods of the sky
But Crom is your God
And he lives in the earth
Once giants lived in the earth, Conan
And in the darkness of chaos
They fooled Crom
And took from him the enigma of steel
Crom was angered, and the earth shook
And fire and wind struck down these giants
And they threw their bodies into the waters
But in their rage
The Gods forgot the enigma of steel
And left it on the battlefield
And we have found it, Conan
Not Gods, not giants
Just men
The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery
You must learn its riddle, Conan
You must learn its discipline
For no one...no one in this world can you trust
Not men, not women, not beasts
This...you can trust!"
The prototype for most ancient world views right there in a nutshell...filled with poetic meaning if you hear it right.
What would we say now...as scrict materialists answering a son's questions about the meaning of life?
"All notions of meaning are just bio-chemical illusions son...sorry.
Everything you preceive, feel, remember...and even your sense of self and consciousness are all just the projections of electrical brain reactions.
Which all go out like a light bulb when you die.
Thus it is with the universe itself...just chaotic randomly appearing, temporary bundles of particles. A monster of energy...a sea of forces flowing and rushing together, eternally changing and flooding back over eons of recurrence.
Such are the inferences of science my boy, but not for us to stand in awe, but to curse and be crushed in its wheels...this machine of death!"