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> the drastic shift we have undergone as a human consciousness I don't really know what this means, but if you think that the inherent nature of the human soul
by arcturus17 7y ago
> the drastic shift we have undergone as a human consciousness
I don't really know what this means, but if you think that the inherent nature of the human soul has changed in the last few decades, think again... If tomorrow there was a catastrophic event such as a worldwide nuclear fallout, humans would be at each other's throats in the blink of an eye. The only thing really keeping us together are institutions and collective constructs such as "human rights", which are far from permanent. It is hardly our evovled 21st century post-modernist souls keeping us prosperous and peaceful - we are fundamentally not different from the Romans, who enslaved people and had them mauled by lions in giant arenas. Or hey, the Nazis, which were a thing like 70 years ago - practically yesterday.
Also, tell Beijing about the wonderful droplets of color that are the people of Hong Kong and see what they think. They'll probably laugh heartily while they order their tank commanders to raze the city, if they become persuaded that that's what needs to be done to fulfill their vision of a dominant China.
- artsyca 7y agoThat's very kind of you to reply arcturus17 -- no question human nature hasn't changed since the days of the Romans and we're certainly at each other's throats but I'm telling you the tank commanders are more sentient than they were in 1989 by all accounts they're millennials just like the rest of y'all
- msla 7y agoI think humans have become less prone to cruelty over the centuries. Bear-baiting was a common sport; these days, I bet most of you will have to look up what it even was, and will be horrified to learn about it. War remains horrible, but it is no longer fought within grabbing range with great big hammers and sharpened pieces of metal. Humans aren't just genetics: We're culture and, perhaps, epigenetics as well, and culture plays a big role in psychology.
- artsyca 7y agoAnyway you slice it, we are all reflections of one consciousness spreading its own message through mass media, you and I are not as separate as we may infer from sensory stimuli -- people are awakening to this idea more and more be it consciously or subconsciously and our unity will triumph over forces seeking to profit from artificial division or subjugation
- koonsolo 7y agoI know a Romanian who was 18 at the Romenian revolution. He says it takes only 2 weeks to get used to dead bodies on the street.
- Retric 7y agoI think “human consciousness” is perhaps a poor way to describe the core idea. When you put on a glove you stop thinking about your hand as the flesh inside the glove, but rather as including this new exoskeleton. Technology gets integrated in a similar fashion. “I will call you back” is arguably not just a linguistic shortcut for “I will initiate the process that starts a phone call.” Rather it’s an inclusion of technical capacity as part your your idea of self. Building on that idea gets you into some odd places. Anyway, I suspect people would have quickly used cell phones in a similar fashion if someone had somehow been selling similarly useful and affordable devices 3000 years ago.
- kristiandupont 7y agoAre you, by any chance, a Scott McCloud fan? http://vickyteinaki.com/2014/uploads/phenomenology.png http://vickyteinaki.com/2014/uploads/phenomenology.png
- artsyca 7y agoWow! the connection to inanimate objects is very real --
- artsyca 7y agoYes! Precisely! I'm certain cavemen would wear crocs
- trevyn 7y ago>we are fundamentally not different from the Romans We have retained the capacity to regress in the blink of an eye, and we have also acquired fundamentally new powers of thought on an unprecedentedly broad scale.