by nicolaou 10 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Imagine you have your full powers of reason and can debate with others in the same situation but you have absolutely no knowledge of the nature of existence. Where would you start? It's a tricky one for sure, but if you could unlearn everything you know and start from absolute zero what conclusions do you think you might reach about the big questions?
Who are we?
How did we get here?
Is there a purpose to life?
If something is spinning in space and there is absolutely nothing else in the universe, then how do we know it is spinning?
Truly I don't know ... because I'm not there ... (I just can't think without my experiences).
But I guess I would follow my heart and reasoning anyway or the reason of my heart ...
Else:
That's why some postulate that a God of love must be a minimum of three persons. One to observe the interactions of another two. Without it the word "juxtaposition" would also become meaningless.
Nic:Isn't that the position a zygote finds itself in?
So does this hyper-zygote get a dictionary, or does it have to make that up for itself, too?
Imagine you have your full powers of reason and can debate with others in the same situation but you have absolutely no knowledge of the nature of existence
You cannot have both at the same time. You could never reason with full power and be limited by having no knowledge of any given subject.
abr
If I have a language to ask such questions in the first place, I certainly don't start from nothing. With the language comes a cultural inheritance which I partly reproduce and partly modify -- including some previous discussion of those three questions.
If I haven't such a language the answers might be respectively "grmmf", "hmmm" and "woooooh".
"grmmf", "hmmm" and "woooooh"
OMG, really?!!!
LT, of the "choose your language carefully" class
intersting nic!
but to say that we would have our full powers of reason, is to imply that reason has had an effect on us, and that we have access to the scientific data that powers reason. by these variables, i would say that i would end up as a person who:
Who are we?
felt that we were bipedal apes with large brains.
How did we get here?
felt that we got here, to where we are by the slow gradual process of evolution. billions of years after that last big bang.
Is there a purpose to life?
felt that the only purpose to life is that which i personally, subjectively, give it. it might turn out to be a grand purpose, if i had the tenacity to make it that way.
but, if i were to start from real zero, with no data or logic ability, then i would argue that the way i saw the universe would be very similar to the way that our distant ancestors saw the world and life 150 000 years ago. which is to say that my answers to the above questions would be way different. even magical.
tetra
LT: I never met a zygote with "full powers of reason", or one that was able to debate anything with other zygotes, but I get your illustration (I think). So no, the hyper-zygote has no dictionary or access to any information. It can only try to ascertain the truth of it's existence and the nature of reality via it's own deductions and inter-zygotian debate.
abr: It's hypothetical speculation of course, indulge me. If it makes it easier, imagine I just tapped your noggin with my magical hammer and everything you ever knew just fell out of your head, same goes for everyone else on the planet. Also, my loyal, tinkerbelle assistants have scattered their information destroying pixie dust over the entire globe annihilating every library, internet server and printed work in existence.
Who are you and where did you come from?
If it makes it easier, imagine I just tapped your noggin with my magical hammer and everything you ever knew just fell out of your head,
Well that makes it easier, then you wouldn't have a real big pile laying of the floor because I don't know a whole lot to begin with. As far as the questionss
I would just shrug my shoulders and say as Ronald did in the Iran/Contra affair
"I can't remember"
abr
