-----Original Message-----
From: b <rrdd3939@aol.com>
To: rrdd3939 <rrdd3939@aol.com>
Sent: Fri, Nov 23, 2012 3:49 am
Subject: Fwd: SOUL MAN (Expanded Version)...
  
                                         
      
      
      
                      
        
        
        
        
                                                                                                                   
                                                                     
                                               
                                         
                           
            
  
From: b <rrdd3939@aol.com>
To: rrdd3939 <rrdd3939@aol.com>
Sent: Fri, Nov 23, 2012 3:49 am
Subject: Fwd: SOUL MAN (Expanded Version)...
        (Reading the other installments in the "Plato Man in the Cave" series is                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
                recommended but not required. Take note of "Plato's Cave to Plato'
            Heaven," "Plato's Heaven" and "Return to Plato's Cave" which are highly
                                 critical of physicist like Michio Kaku whom seem to treat mathematical
                                 speculation as fact and largely bypassing observational and experimental 
                                evidence. "Outside of Plato's Cave" is appropriate to the season).
                                                    (This constitutes a Supplement (isn't it unusual for a  supplement to enjoy 
                                its own name) to Plato's Man in the Cave series/Urania Moons You/God: 
                                A Personal Journey {an article with three names} A supplement comes 
                                after the article proper; if you don't know that you aren't equipped to be
                                                    reading material of this nature).
                                                                                     SOUL MAN (Expanded Version)
                                                                       PLATO'S MAN in the CAVE Series: The FINALE'
                                              A CRITIQUE of the DIRECTION SCIENCE is TAKING
                                                                          by Richard DePersio with Citizen Journalist
                                                             (Special thanks to Urania {for the use of the hall} and Plato)
                                                    WHY DOES EVERYONE ELSE SEE A PROBLEM --- WE DON'T!!!
                                                    The ancient Greek and Roman philosophers might be described
                                 as nearly being idealists/immaterialists (although, these
                                 philosophical terms weren't employed at the time; ethical values and
                                math properties exist independent of our knowing or experiencing them). 
                                They felt that one can only understand nature by thinking about it and 
                                through the use of mathematics, especially, geometry. 
                                        For most of the ancients frowned upon observing or experiencing
                                 or experimenting, especially, the latter for the use of hands in work 
                                was for slaves. Soldiers' use of hands were an exception. A few would
                                 engage only when they thought absolutely necessary and felt 
                                self-degradation. Plato subscribed to this view. (Ionians being the
                                 exception. They found value in both). On the other hand, Plato was a 
                                dualist in that he thought in terms of soul-body being of a different nature.
                                        Descartes, in the 17th Century, that mind was a mental 
                                substance whose essential nature was thinking and feeling. Everything 
                                else is matter or material substance with physical characteristics like
                                 size and shape. This is known as dualism. He was a rationalist: 
                                Knowledge acquisition wasn't limited to the senses and one might be
                                 better off not attempting knowledge acquisition by this fashion. 
                                (Empiricists think that it is virtually all about senses: observing; 
                                experiencing; experimenting).
                                                           Those in opposition hold that since Descartes made mental 
                                and physical different substances that they can't possibly react to each
                                 other: a physical effect requires a physical cause.
                                                    WHY DOES EVERYONE ELSE SEE A PROBLEM --- WE DON'T!!!
                                                          Matter and the Space-Time Foam (Einstein's gravity: the curvature 
                                of space) interact with each other and STF isn't even a substance!
                                                          Spinoza tried to rectify {CJ: "That which we don't perceive as
                                                    a problem."} by suggesting that it is properties not substances.
                                                    You're describing different aspects of the same entity: two sides of the
                                 same coin. He attempts to explain how mind-body (or brain) 
                                interaction can occur. {CJ: "This works for us as well."}
                                                         Those in opposition hold that he has shifted the problem of dualism
                                 not solved it.
                                             Empiricists posit that virtually all knowledge is derived from the 
                                        senses through observation, experience and experimentation and are,
                                 by and large, materialists (universe is all matter).
                                                    It should be noted that 90% of scientists and philosophers are
                                 materialists or physicalists.
                                                    WHY DOES EVERYONE ELSE SEE A PROBLEM --- WE DON'T!!!
                                             Why isn't dualism in physics acceptable? A massless particle
                                                    light sometimes behaves like a particle and sometimes behaves
                                                    like a wave; particles with mass like protons sometimes behave
                                                    as particles and sometimes waves. Even opposites exist in
                                                    nature: positive and negative charges; matter and antimatter.
                                                     Mind containing info on thoughts, feelings and memories
                                                    corresponding to data contained in neurons of the brain.
                                                    Info existing at two different locations; mind and brain of two 
                                        different substances or two different aspects. Mind or 
                                consciousness, perhaps, existing in the microtubules of 
                neurons.
                       Albert taught us that matter was a concentrated form of
                 energy and that matter and energy are two different forms of
                 the same thing. And, certainly matter and energy interact with 
                each other and have no problem doing so. Mind and/or 
                consciousness and/or spirit and or soul. Why does Albert 
                have a problem with soul? Please continue reading.
                       Speaking of soul: CJ is pretty fly for a white guy!
                                                      Descartes like Plato contended that we were born with
                                                 certain innate ideas: the true meaning of liberty (abstract ideas); 
                                                geometry. Descartes felt that the mind was a little god made in
                                                God's image and to think of the mind as a machine was
                                                undignified. Plato felt that innate ideas are in the soul. Could Mind
                                                and soul might be the same thing!). For Plato the soul was
                                                imprisoned in the corrupt body making it difficult to apprehend 
                                innate ideas while for Descartes the world of the senses could 
                                impede one's attempt to connect with innate ideas. Knowledge from
                                 senses is inferior.
                                                      Empiricists claim that most knowledge should come from
                                                observation, experience and experimentation. Most wouldn't
                                                object to Descartes claiming math and abstract ideas are innate
                                                but Descartes went further by contending that knowledge of
                                                the physical world should be ascertained through pure thought.
                                                      Both sides resurrected the little known ancient Greek idea of the
                                 atom as the smallest indivisible part of a substance. Most ancient
                                 thought that everything was made of earth, wind, fire and water. 
                                Atoms had no substance - only shape, spin, motion. Descartes went
                                 further: color, taste, sound were innate. When we looked at grass, 
                                our mind tells us to see it as green. This too was a road too far for
                                the empiricists.
                                                      We maintain that knowledge must be secured via thought/
                                                math and observation/experience/experimentation. As physicist 
                                Roger Penrose suggests there might be three realms: math; mental 
                                or mind; physical or material. Just to complicate things further!
                                                WHY DOES EVERYONE ELSE SEE A PROBLEM --- WE DON'T!!!
                                                      We can't be certain that mind and consciousness can exist
                                                separate from but related to brain. We cannot be certain that mind 
                                can be soul/spirit. Although, it might be proven one day.Does this 
                                constitute wild unscientific thinking? One might say that of quantum 
                                physics. It seems to us that most physicists today are thinking in a 
                                fashion like Descartes: minimizing value of observation and 
                                experimentation. Accepting math speculation as fact with little or no 
                                observational/experimental data to support it. Descartes once again 
                                you are front and center.
                                                       Why is it difficult for most scientists to accept mind as separate
                                 from brain. They except electron being in more than one place at a 
                                time. They accept Higgs-Bosons: ghost-like particles which give 
                                substance to matter. They accept ten spatial dimensions instead of the
                                 traditional three. It seems to us that mind fits right in there. Is it that 
                                they are married to atheism. 
                                               Disagreeing with Albert...Idealism/realism: minds and ideas is all
                                 that there is; ethical values and mathematical properties exist 'out 
                                there' independent of our knowing them. there is no substance. On 
                                the issue of math: A rationalist is  with an emphasis on getting knowledge
                                    of abstract ideas, including, math. via thought. Empiricists argue that the
                                 abstract ideas of math are actually human constructs (tools) and math is
                                 a matter of convention - it helps create consensus not discover; adds 
                                additional proof but not fact or truth. Descartes was a duelist who 
                                reasoned God's existence (one might say that he was a deist) while 
                                Spinoza was a dualist and a pantheist. Which brings us to Albert. We are
                                 going to quote from "Parallel Worlds" by Michio Kaku, even though we 
                                have been critical of Michio: "Einstein once wrote that he believed in
                                    Spinoza's God who reveals Himself in the orderly harmony of what exists
                                 {CJ: "We can see why the 'Uncertainty Principle' upset him."}, not in a 
                                God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings. 
                                The god of Spinoza and Einstein is the god of harmony, the god of
                                reason and logic. Einstein writes, "I cannot imagine a god who
                                rewards and punishes the objects of his creation...Neither can I believe
                                 that the individual survives the death of the body." {CJ: "We think that 
                                deism is predicated on reason."} Einstein said,"I am convinced that we 
                                can discover by means of purely mathematical construction the concepts
                                 and the laws...which furnish the key to the understanding of natural
                                phenomena....pure thought can grasp reality." We contend that since 
                                quantum theory was created in the '20s and even more so since the '80s
                                 with String Theory, M Theory, Multi-verses that scientists have become 
                                more idealists (or immaterialists). Machio in his own words: "My own
        view is that verification of string theory might come entirely from
        pure mathematics rather than from experiment." Is the real 
        universe just in way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                                            WE DISCOVERED A CONNECTION UNINTENTIONAL BUT
MEANINGFUL...
                                            MEANINGFUL...
Einstein helped develop quantum physics but was most uncomfortable 
                                with it, especially, the Uncertainty Principle: You can know a particles 
                                location or it speed and direction but not both at the time time. Not
                                long before his death, he grudgingly accepted it but felt that like 
                                Relativity didn't replace Newtonian Physics but made it a subset that
                                eventually Quantum would become part of something bigger.
                                                   The Cat Paradox...Imagine a cat sealed in a box with a bottle of 
                                poison gas connected to a hammer, which in turn is connected to a 
                                Geiger counter placed near a piece of uranium. The radioactive decay
                                 of the uranium atom is a quantum event which can't be predicted ahead
                                 of time. Let's say the there is a 50% chance that the uranium atom will
                                 decay in the next second. If it does decay, it will set off the Geiger 
                                Counter, which sets off the hammer which breaks the glass, killing the 
                                cat (PETA, its not real but a thought experiment; don't protest at our 
                                comsats). The physicists say that the cat is 50% alive and 50% dead
                                 until we open the box. Once you open the box the wave function
                                            collapses and you and the cat have definite position and your 
                                observation can be made.
                                                  There are several ways of resolving the cat problem. According to
                                 Eugene Wigner consciousness determines existence. Wigner's friend:
                                 In order to determine my state, someone else has to observe me to
                                 collapse my wave function. It also means that someone has to observe
                                            Wigner's friend, and Wigner's friend's friend, and so on. Is there a 
                                cosmic consciousness that determines the entire sequence of friends by
                                 observing the whole universe?
                                                  Scientists haven't created life out of non-living matter nor have they
                                 created consciousness out of life, let alone the higher consciousness of 
                                humans.
                                                  Each one observing the previous observer with the ultimate observer
                                 in the cat paradox being God.Can there be a universe without observers?
                                 John Wheeler proposes that the entire universe is dominated by
                                            consciousness and information (mind and math) Consciousness 
                                determines the nature of the universe. "50 Philosophy Ideas You Really
                                 Need to Know" by Ben Dupre' (Quercus, 2007): "...in Descartes the mind
                                 is effectively a stage on which ideas are viewed by an inner observer -
                                 the immaterial soul. the fact that this inner observer, or 'homunculus',
                                 itself appears to require an observer of its own (and so on to infinity).
                                We need both approaches to understanding the universe: thought and
                                observation. The pure forms of ethics and math reside in Plato's Heaven.
                                They are innate in our mind or soul and can be discovered by rationalism
                                and empiricism. Sadly, science is over-emphasizing the latter. We are not
                                a blank slate at birth but this does not mean that we are born with strong
                                or weak homo or criminal or nasty genes. Quantum may be true but so
                                is purpose to universe true.
                                                    










