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The two stories you mention: "There is a God", "There isn't a God" do not seem to capture reality adequately. I believe in something more akin to "Brahman". The

The two stories you mention: "There is a God", "There isn't a God" do not seem to capture reality adequately. I believe in something more akin to "Brahman". The story I told above was just a fun what-if story, and I don't claim I have any insight into it's truth, or how you could even go about proving it.

meric 10y ago
You are conscious, because your mind is conscious, and your mind is a part of you. The universe is conscious, because you are conscious, you are a part of the universe. Brahman is also conscious, because universe is conscious, and the universe is a part of Brahman. I'm not Hindu, but this is pretty conclusive proof.
- AnimalMuppet 10y ago
  Well, I don't look at it that way. To put it in object-oriented terms: I am my mind and my body. Think of inheritance here: I am my mind, and I am my body. Because my mind is conscious, it's fine to say that I am conscious. But the universe is more like a container (a set, say). It isn't its contents, it merely has them. So while I am part of the universe, and I am conscious, that doesn't mean that the universe is conscious. Instead, it contains consciousness. > Brahman is also conscious, because universe is conscious, and the universe is a part of Brahman. Objection, your honor. Assumes facts not in evidence. And: I'm not Hindu either, but I'm not sure, within Hinduism, whether Brahman is conscious.
  - meric 10y ago
    Ahh. One day you will realise from my point of view all of you is inseparable from the universe - your mind is just atoms like a plant. Are we saying the atoms in your mind are coloured and in a separate space time to the rest of the universe? From when do the food you eat to when you digest them, do they separate from the universe into you? Unless you mean atoms aren't part of the universe, and then neither is energy because atom is just energy in a specific form. In that case I think you meant to use the word "space", not universe? Because the definition of universe is "The Universe is all of time and space and its contents". So the only explanation I can understand where you can be separate from the universe is, if you weren't a content of this universe and I'm speaking to a super-natural being. Otherwise, if you aren't supernatural, then all of you is a part of the universe, and that makes the universe at least as conscious as you are.' The only reach from universe to Brahman, is whether there are multiple universes, or is this the only one. In my opinion, all positions besides Pantheism or Panentheism are illogical.
    - ZeroFries 10y ago
      Within your projection of reality, the sum total of all your qualia and awareness at any point in time, you call part of it "me", or "my body", and the rest of it "not me". But, this distinction is just a feeling, or more qualia, within the projection. In reality, you contain the projection.

meric 10y ago

You are conscious, because your mind is conscious, and your mind is a part of you. The universe is conscious, because you are conscious, you are a part of the universe. Brahman is also conscious, because universe is conscious, and the universe is a part of Brahman. I'm not Hindu, but this is pretty conclusive proof.

AnimalMuppet 10y ago
Well, I don't look at it that way. To put it in object-oriented terms: I am my mind and my body. Think of inheritance here: I am my mind, and I am my body. Because my mind is conscious, it's fine to say that I am conscious. But the universe is more like a container (a set, say). It isn't its contents, it merely has them. So while I am part of the universe, and I am conscious, that doesn't mean that the universe is conscious. Instead, it contains consciousness. > Brahman is also conscious, because universe is conscious, and the universe is a part of Brahman. Objection, your honor. Assumes facts not in evidence. And: I'm not Hindu either, but I'm not sure, within Hinduism, whether Brahman is conscious.
- meric 10y ago
  Ahh. One day you will realise from my point of view all of you is inseparable from the universe - your mind is just atoms like a plant. Are we saying the atoms in your mind are coloured and in a separate space time to the rest of the universe? From when do the food you eat to when you digest them, do they separate from the universe into you? Unless you mean atoms aren't part of the universe, and then neither is energy because atom is just energy in a specific form. In that case I think you meant to use the word "space", not universe? Because the definition of universe is "The Universe is all of time and space and its contents". So the only explanation I can understand where you can be separate from the universe is, if you weren't a content of this universe and I'm speaking to a super-natural being. Otherwise, if you aren't supernatural, then all of you is a part of the universe, and that makes the universe at least as conscious as you are.' The only reach from universe to Brahman, is whether there are multiple universes, or is this the only one. In my opinion, all positions besides Pantheism or Panentheism are illogical.
  - ZeroFries 10y ago
    Within your projection of reality, the sum total of all your qualia and awareness at any point in time, you call part of it "me", or "my body", and the rest of it "not me". But, this distinction is just a feeling, or more qualia, within the projection. In reality, you contain the projection.