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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 10:45 pm
I usually work with one of two main working theories: a scientific model and a metaphysical one.
When working with the scientific model, I end up falling into existentialist problems, in life has no specific meaning, and its purpose is a circular one of maintaining itself. Maintaining life, following a purely scientific model without any extrapolation beyond what is presently known also meets with an inevitability of failure--granted, one that is trillions of years away with the decay of the universe into entropy, but failure none-the-less. Even my transhumanist / extropian motivation runs into problems with this model, since escaping death as a human being, either of old age or prematurely, is simply postponing the inevitable by a large but finite number of years.
Thus, I tend to find more comfort in the second model, the metaphysical one.
But, I'm well aware that wanting something to be true is not enough to make it so. (Actually, my metaphysical model in a certain sense suggests otherwise, but accepting that at this point in this discussion would be a logical fallacy.) Therefore, rather than accepting whichever religious model seems the friendliest or the other extreme, the most dire (i.e., believe in me or face infinite torment), I am going with an extrapolation of whatever seems to be coming at me. In my case, it is information gathered in a combination of dreams, personal experiences, and events that defy probability that impart information to me. Because these events range in nature from improbable "coincidence" to frank paranormal experiences, I have very little basis by which to prove to others my working metaphysical theories. Fortunately, I have no compelling motivation to do so, either, as my metaphysical theory does not include a need to convince others to think in any one specific way.
My metaphysical model includes several assumptions: that the mundane realm is just one of an infinite number of realms, that streams of consciousness are of core significance and are connected with multiple realms, and that not all streams of consciousness represent the same kind of "organism" or "species" across realms. This last one explains how I can identify with other animals, though at my core, I see myself as no more a wolf than a human, but as an entity that right now is one and relates to the other. This model by similar token does not recognize human needs as having any inherent superiority to the needs of other conscious animals; the cat in my lap right now has just as much a right to exist and seek contentment as does the people across the street in the parking lot. (I have working ethics models built around the idea of varying levels of cognition, in which those of us with more cognitive ability have certain privileges over those of less cognition, but with it duties to protect their integrity and their rights to evolve and develop.) I also believe that not all humans in this realm are the same "species" in other realms. Indeed, I have met only one or two others of my "kind" from what passes for a spirit realm.
When working with the scientific model, I end up falling into existentialist problems, in life has no specific meaning, and its purpose is a circular one of maintaining itself. Maintaining life, following a purely scientific model without any extrapolation beyond what is presently known also meets with an inevitability of failure--granted, one that is trillions of years away with the decay of the universe into entropy, but failure none-the-less. Even my transhumanist / extropian motivation runs into problems with this model, since escaping death as a human being, either of old age or prematurely, is simply postponing the inevitable by a large but finite number of years.
Thus, I tend to find more comfort in the second model, the metaphysical one.
But, I'm well aware that wanting something to be true is not enough to make it so. (Actually, my metaphysical model in a certain sense suggests otherwise, but accepting that at this point in this discussion would be a logical fallacy.) Therefore, rather than accepting whichever religious model seems the friendliest or the other extreme, the most dire (i.e., believe in me or face infinite torment), I am going with an extrapolation of whatever seems to be coming at me. In my case, it is information gathered in a combination of dreams, personal experiences, and events that defy probability that impart information to me. Because these events range in nature from improbable "coincidence" to frank paranormal experiences, I have very little basis by which to prove to others my working metaphysical theories. Fortunately, I have no compelling motivation to do so, either, as my metaphysical theory does not include a need to convince others to think in any one specific way.
My metaphysical model includes several assumptions: that the mundane realm is just one of an infinite number of realms, that streams of consciousness are of core significance and are connected with multiple realms, and that not all streams of consciousness represent the same kind of "organism" or "species" across realms. This last one explains how I can identify with other animals, though at my core, I see myself as no more a wolf than a human, but as an entity that right now is one and relates to the other. This model by similar token does not recognize human needs as having any inherent superiority to the needs of other conscious animals; the cat in my lap right now has just as much a right to exist and seek contentment as does the people across the street in the parking lot. (I have working ethics models built around the idea of varying levels of cognition, in which those of us with more cognitive ability have certain privileges over those of less cognition, but with it duties to protect their integrity and their rights to evolve and develop.) I also believe that not all humans in this realm are the same "species" in other realms. Indeed, I have met only one or two others of my "kind" from what passes for a spirit realm.