tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post1968138416221661283..comments2024-03-13T09:21:04.273-07:00Comments on StrangePegs: What Does It Mean To Be Human? or The Question of SentienceAndrew Leonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-67627584139349833012018-04-03T15:36:22.260-07:002018-04-03T15:36:22.260-07:00Liz: I don't know that I believe in the "...Liz: I don't know that I believe in the "soul" at this point. The idea of the soul is specifically religious, and I don't see any basis for it in science, especially since we can artificially create out-of-body experiences which resemble what people think they experience as near-death episodes.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-61022117275219482862018-04-03T15:34:07.818-07:002018-04-03T15:34:07.818-07:00Jeanne: When I say "murder," I mean spec...Jeanne: When I say "murder," I mean specifically about killing one's own kind. I don't think dolphins kill for fun within their own species. I could be wrong about that. I'm not a dolphin expert.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-23687633885743929222018-04-03T15:27:43.133-07:002018-04-03T15:27:43.133-07:00Rusty: Yeah, I think we're beyond the point wh...Rusty: Yeah, I think we're beyond the point where we can do anything to salvage the environment. If not for Trump (#fakepresident), we might have been able to do something, but we're going to spend the first decade after his fakepresidency just trying to get back to the place we were at the end of Obama's presidency.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-26617327892987239452018-04-02T15:01:01.017-07:002018-04-02T15:01:01.017-07:00I have a theory with regards to souls. That is: ev...I have a theory with regards to souls. That is: every living creature has one. (Swarms of insects share a soul.) Which makes me wonder about future artificial intelligences. Will they have souls? I kind of think they will. What imbues a creature with a soul? How does life form? <br /><br />Right, so off topic...Liz A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16531953467834426316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-10837618006692904692018-04-02T12:25:11.203-07:002018-04-02T12:25:11.203-07:00I do have to take issue with one thing you said, a...I do have to take issue with one thing you said, and that it's that animals don't murder for fun because dolphins, in addition to having names, do that. But yes, I agree with everything else you said. It's inhuman the way those people act. Why is "elevated above" mean "I get to do whatever I want to you" instead of "I'm expected to act with more compassion than you"?J E Oneilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09780097298061829471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-29123281745774208292018-04-02T06:41:39.090-07:002018-04-02T06:41:39.090-07:00Hey! Just doing my once in a blue moon check-in. I...Hey! Just doing my once in a blue moon check-in. I like your thoughts here. It reminds me of when I first read Carl Sagan's book that is sort of on this topic (Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors) and how it blew my mind with story after story of experiments with animals (mainly primates, if I recall correctly... it has been a very long time) that can only honestly be concluded with the idea that animals have a much richer inner life than most people ever suspected. <br /><br />Which really puts into perspective that Descartes - who famously nailed his wife's dog to a board and vivisected it in some sort of weird 'proof' that it had no soul and was more like an automaton only acting like it was in agony - took his claims on the human soul way too far. <br /><br />He apparently enjoyed it so much that he continued to torture dogs and happily record his thoughts for a long time. That dude had to be a psychopath... since he struggled with wondering if other humans were also automatons too. <br /><br />Regardless, bringing back elephant trophies is messed up. I don't think it's going to end well for us humans. Our worst instincts are rewarded by society way more often than they should. Rusty Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09887821877521181811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7658526372996117205.post-87862280584592309912018-04-02T06:11:20.451-07:002018-04-02T06:11:20.451-07:00Yes! Anyone who can't see the "soul"...Yes! Anyone who can't see the "soul" and intelligence in animals has the internal complexity of a slug. *no offense to slugs* Luanne G. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15762881276976395955noreply@blogger.com