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. . . just because I am cognizant of my existence and capable of abstract thought, does it indicate a supernatural element? superstition is ignorant and immature, I am not afraid to die alone in a cold universe devoid of meaning, when the cold, dark silence arrives - so be it!

thundergod 5 Aug 9
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True Detective: 10 Rust Cohle Quotes We Still Don't Understand

1 "Well, Once There Was Always Dark. If You Ask Me, The Light’s Winning."
2 "Well, If The Common Good Has Got To Make Up Fairy Tales, Then It’s Not Good For Anybody."
3 "I Don’t Think Men Can Love."
4 "Of Course I’m Dangerous. I’m Police. I Can Do Terrible Things To People With Impunity."
5 "Death Created Time To Grow The Things That It Would Kill."
6 "There Is No Such Thing As Forgiveness. People Just Have Short Memories."
7 "I Contemplate The Moment In The Garden, The Idea Of Allowing Your Own Crucifixion."
8 "The World Needs Bad Men. We Keep Other Bad Men From The Door."
9."People Incapable Of Guilt, Usually Do Have A Good Time."
10. "Someone Once Told Me Time Is A Flat Circle. Everything We’ve Ever Done Or Will Do, We’re Gonna Do Over And Over And Over Again."

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No, it indicates a phenomenally complex brain:

"An implication" is that consciousness, too," (besides the 5 senses) does not just emerge holistically as some sort of ‘field’ from the general workings of the brain, but is a property of the specific anatomy of the brain, albeit a number of regions of the brain collaborating in unison at any one time.” pg.242, of Life Ascending...." by Nick Lane.

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Nope not proof of Devine

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We won’t know it’s a cold dark silence because we will no longer be cognisant of anything after we die. In the meantime we must make each day we exist as meaningful, enjoyable and as full of love for the beauty and pleasure of our natural surroundings and our human and animal companions as we possibly can....no supernatural entities necessary. As@OldFloyd says...carpe diem !

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I believe there are undiscovered things in nature, but that doesn't mean a magical entity.

. . . humans will be great pets for superior entities 😊

@thundergod910 I don't know about that. We really hate captivity.

@BitFlipper None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free-
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

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I'll continue to rage against the dying of the light.
Ultimately my raging will make no difference, yet I rage all the same.

. . . your "raging" is of little consequence and darkness disappears when it is overcome by the light - I stopped searching for the light when I became the light

Ultimately it will make a difference. You will not be cognizant of it.

@dalefvictor . . . you make the assertion that it WILL make a difference, so PROVE it!

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Amen

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I feel lucky to be alive, the have eyes that see, a strong body to hike steep trails, and a heart that soars with the beauty of the outdoors.

Since 2006, I have been a volunteer college mentor at Wenatchee High School. I help first generation children of immigrants write essays to apply for college and scholarships. Helping others give tremendous meaning to my life.

This is your LIFE, not a rehearsal. Make the most of it.

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Cold universe devoid of meaning? Wow. I'm not afraid to die either, but we all live in a gorgeous beautiful planet that we mistreat, so I try to live with the ultimate goal of leaving this earth better than when I was born, this gives me purpose, makes my life worth living until the day I am no longer here.

. . . in world war 2 Nazis committed genocide, does the bad they did cancel out the good you do? what is defined as good and what is defined as bad makes NO DIFFERENCE in the universe

Awesome that we can assign ourselves purpose....but...meaning? Naw, that's different. Humans have the ability to be "too full of ourselves". I suppose that "meaning" could be relative. Human life has no more or less meaning than this damn mosquito, who's existance is about to change, then it will have a different purpose, but still no "meaning". See how that works?

@thundergod910, @JoJoBones if you want to compare yourself to a mosquito, I'm not the one to stop you. But for me purpose and meaning are about the same if it helps mankind, the earth and even that darn mosquito.

@Mofo1953. as I say, as humans, we are able to make up these things and think of ourselves as suprior. It's a thing we do.

Hell, some go as far as to think of ourselves as "god"

...or to think that "without humans the world wouldn't be What it is...". Well, that one is truth...but I ain't to sure that's something for us to be too damn proud about.
Hmmm..."advanced"???... Lemme think about THAT for a minute

@JoJoBones again, you probably. I am superior to none but equal to all, not even a dog, much less a god, and by the way, who are you quoting? Because I never said any of the phrases you quote, not even used the word advanced at all. Try to be a little less obvious in your pessimism and dedicate a little more effort to your replies where you make up shit to substantiate a moot point that you want to sell me or the reader, but can't and won't, at least on me.

@Mofo1953 ok

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I've seen no evidence for the supernatural. To the contrary, history is full of mysteries that we later solved — e.g., working out the shape and size of Earth, calculating the motion of the planets, understanding mental illness and seizures aren't manifestations of demonic possession. Appeals to the supernatural are no more explanations than saying, "it's magic." Admitting that we don't have the answer allows us to continue searching for how things work, but claiming the supernatural shuts down further inquiry and investigation. I readily agree that we do not have a satisfying theory, or even a cogent hypothesis, for consciousness — what it is, how it works, whether it can be measured — and that's okay. The discomfort we have with our own ignorance is an opportunity to explore; what a shame it is to ever feel so troubled by not knowing that we insert a supernatural answer that explains nothing. When it comes to what consciousness is and where it comes from, I don't know. Someone like Deepak Chopra, as an easy example, claims knowledge and definitive answers, misunderstanding and misrepresenting the science we do understand while exploiting the current holes in our knowledge and the confusing nature of the science. But I wouldn't oppose his ideas if he were more honest that they're mere ideas he has, possibilities worth exploring, thoughts about how we can live our lives to the fullest. I wouldn't mind the idea that consciousness gives rise to the universe as a thought experiment, or that the universe itself is conscious and that our brains are ideally suited, like radio receivers, for that consciousness. While these sound sort of like the ramblings of college sophomore philosophy student under the influence of weed, I think it's great to think about what might be. For that matter, I think it's fine to think about metaphysics and what it would mean if God existed, what its nature might be, etc., and what that would mean as a source of our consciousness. My problem is when it is taken out of the realm of unsupported hypothesis and presented as fact. God, universal consciousness, souls, reincarnation, and so on are not true explanations for how we're self-aware or even what it means to be self-aware or conscious in any way. Intellectually, I'm not afraid of death; my full reasoning is beyond the scope of this topic, but when my consciousness has no succession, when that flame is extinguished, there is no reason to think any part of me remains to experience it as a harm. When I sleep and my brain is inactive outside dream states, I have no consciousness or memories from that time. As far as I can tell, my consciousness will be equally non-existent when my brain permanently shuts down. I don't fear sleep, and I don't fear death. I do, however, want to be around long enough to see the conclusion of The Umbrella Academy. 😛 Okay, I've rambled on long enough. /2¢

. . . so we will witness the creation of artificial intelligence very soon, this will be a achievement like nothing mankind has done before, for the first time in history we will have a separate entity that is nonhuman to interact with, will this cognizant, self adware entity have a soul?

@thundergod910 I'm uncertain artificial intelligence at its next significant stage will be self-aware on a conscious level, but we already communicate with bots of various sorts and rely on their adaptable cognizance/knowledge. I don't assume a soul, unless you mean in a more symbolic or poetic sense akin to meaning "mind." If you're speaking literally, as a dualist, then I'd say that there's probably no soul — for the artificial intelligence or for me. From all appearances, my consciousness is bound to my brain (and possibly to other parts of my body to a lesser degree). There's much about consciousness we don't understand at all, but I have a sense that some of it might be a direct consequence of biology and how we satisfy our needs. I'm just not convinced that our brains operate in a way that can be copied through current (or near-future) computer architecture, especially when so much of how the brain works — even the "simple" stuff, like how memories are formed and recalled or how emotions manifest, to say nothing of invisible consciousness states — is yet unknown.

@resserts . . . perhaps we could enlighten Chinese military R&D of these ideas before they come up with some godless monstrosity that no human mind can out think?

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Supernatural exists in the movies. Supernatural isn't real.

God is referred to as supernatural . . .

@thundergod910 Exactly. God is not real.

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Nah....just hope to go down screaming, yelling, and cussing, for as long as possible.

kicking and screaming

@barjoe lol, not enough air for both, kicking is athree second exercise, but I can yell, scream, and cuss longer if I take it slow...and it helps if I'm one finger typing....

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IMHO, every one dies alone. But aside from that. I get the dark part, But cold? I honestly don't think you, or any one will feel temperature. More like just drift off into peace, then nothing. Much like falling into sleep without any dreams.

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I still like to acknowledge an element of "magic," even if it is just random synchronicities.

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Cogito, ergo sum. I think therefore I am. Rene' Descartes.

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Hey, bub!

There are plenty of bright, hot spots in the multi/Uni-verse.

SCal Level 7 Aug 9, 2020
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Carpe Diem, make your own life. And welcome to the site have fun. 😁

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