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That's exactly what I mean about proposing a notion that serves as a challenge to a point of view. I was pretty confident I was putting forward a statement that

That's exactly what I mean about proposing a notion that serves as a challenge to a point of view. I was pretty confident I was putting forward a statement that someone would take issue with, even if it's part of a sentiment I buy into. Anyway, the original atoms and molecules of that first cell are long gone, yet here we are. In terms of qualifying one's semblance of self, I think infant amnesia also represents a significant developmental boundary, for "counting" as a self aware human. If you don't remember learning to walk, was it "you" that learned? It's a pretty fluid and blurry line for human existence.

chair6 9y ago
Speaking of challenges to a point of view: Plenty of passengers ride the bus, but the bus is not redefined by this. Smell, sickness, graffiti, background noise, and even the occasional pleasant conversation.. all things passengers bring to the bus that may not actually redefine it but do potentially have lasting impact on the bus itself and shape the experience for all parties involved.
- deleted 9y ago
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- posterboy 9y ago
  The whole problem is anthropomorphism. There is no bus, there am just I, and the bus is part of my experience. There are no other people, even -- only me and that which looks and behaves similar to me. So I rationalize exterior events as just as involuntary as my own thought. When I rationalize that as free will, I must rationalize other exterior stimuli as expected, wanted and willed, too, but then there is no interior left. Which is a contradiction, so nihilism is the only solution. If that sounds like bollocks, I will still find a way to rationalize that. > Plenty of passengers ride the bus, but the bus is not redefined by this. The busriding-experience is shaped, which is all that matters. How many parts of a ship can you change until it's not the same ship anymore? There never was a ship to begin with. Just a build. Perhaps this is why Americans love the gerund. "building" is a process and an object at the same time. > ... lasting impact on the bus itself and shape the experience for all parties involved This prompted me to answer. I couldn't say it better.
meric 9y ago
I remember the time before I could walk or talk but can listen and communicate with body language... just FYI.
overthemoon 9y ago
"Your honor, if I was asleep when my car ran off the road, can it truly be said that 'I' ran over the deceased?"
narag 9y ago
I often think that the person I was years ago is dead. But when I read what I wrote then, it's surprising how identical the "voice" is, how little the feelings changed in so many years. We're the shape, not the matter, even if the shape is built on matter. Memories are part of the shape, but you can lose memories, same as you can lose an arm and it's still you, for the most part.

chair6 9y ago

Speaking of challenges to a point of view: Plenty of passengers ride the bus, but the bus is not redefined by this. Smell, sickness, graffiti, background noise, and even the occasional pleasant conversation.. all things passengers bring to the bus that may not actually redefine it but do potentially have lasting impact on the bus itself and shape the experience for all parties involved.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
posterboy 9y ago
The whole problem is anthropomorphism. There is no bus, there am just I, and the bus is part of my experience. There are no other people, even -- only me and that which looks and behaves similar to me. So I rationalize exterior events as just as involuntary as my own thought. When I rationalize that as free will, I must rationalize other exterior stimuli as expected, wanted and willed, too, but then there is no interior left. Which is a contradiction, so nihilism is the only solution. If that sounds like bollocks, I will still find a way to rationalize that. > Plenty of passengers ride the bus, but the bus is not redefined by this. The busriding-experience is shaped, which is all that matters. How many parts of a ship can you change until it's not the same ship anymore? There never was a ship to begin with. Just a build. Perhaps this is why Americans love the gerund. "building" is a process and an object at the same time. > ... lasting impact on the bus itself and shape the experience for all parties involved This prompted me to answer. I couldn't say it better.

meric 9y ago

I remember the time before I could walk or talk but can listen and communicate with body language... just FYI.

overthemoon 9y ago

"Your honor, if I was asleep when my car ran off the road, can it truly be said that 'I' ran over the deceased?"

narag 9y ago

I often think that the person I was years ago is dead. But when I read what I wrote then, it's surprising how identical the "voice" is, how little the feelings changed in so many years. We're the shape, not the matter, even if the shape is built on matter. Memories are part of the shape, but you can lose memories, same as you can lose an arm and it's still you, for the most part.