A Philosophy of Mind

Is the mind the same as the body? What is consciousness? Can machines have it?

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Barbara Brooks
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Post by Barbara Brooks »

Ernest Hemingway believed his love of writing came: "From things that had happened and from things as they exist and from all things that you know. That all those you cannot know, you make something through your invention that is not a representation but a whole new thing truer than anything true and alive, and if you make it well enough, you give it immortality. That is why you write and for no other reason that you know of."

Love of learning is philosophy, which is gentle, good, and noble purpose. What is required is, courage, quickness, and might and well being.


True knowledge Protagorus thought was through conversation discussion asking and answering, beating the subject up and down. But he also thought that to speak of what every one knows would be tedious.
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Arising_uk
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Post by Arising_uk »

Hi Barbara and RA,
Do you think that Thales got this from the Babylonians? As we've discovered that the Babylonian astronomer, Kidinnu, had a system of predicting eclipses that was not bettered until the late 18th century. Or was it Thales that gave it to the Babylonians? Just asking as you appear to have a good knowledge of the ancients and I don't.
a_uk
Barbara Brooks
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Post by Barbara Brooks »

a uk.

The majority opinion of Thales origin was to have been a Milesian by descent, though Herodotus suggested that his parents were Phoenician. After repeating a story that Thales had been naturalized, or recently enrolled as a citizen, Diogenes Laërtius informs us that "a more common statement is that he was a native Milesian, of noble extraction. Thales origin, Diogenes Laërtius and others further suggested that Thales was the son of Examyas and Cleobulina and that they were of the Thelidae family (hence Thales), who were of noble descent from Agenor and Cadmus of ancient Thebes, Greece.

Diogenes Laërtius reports two stories about Thales' family life, one that he married and had a son, Cybisthus or Cybisthon, or adopted his nephew of the same name. The second is that he never married, telling his mother as a young man that it was too early to marry, and as an older man that it was too late.
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Arising_uk
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Post by Arising_uk »

Thanks Barabara,
But I'm unsure if that answers my obviously unclear question which is, do you think it possible that Thales may have obtained his technique for predicting eclipses from the Babylonians? That is do you think there was an exchange of ideas much like there was when the Priests translated the Greeks.
a_uk
Last edited by Arising_uk on Sun Aug 03, 2008 7:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Barbara Brooks
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Post by Barbara Brooks »

Kim,

I honestly could not tell you but Babylon which was one of Assyria cities was considered the most renowned and strongest states at the time, what influence if any for predicting the eclipes I do not know. On page 38 to 40 in Herodotus "The History" shows Thaless was certainly present at that time.

Barbara
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Arising_uk
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Post by Arising_uk »

Thanks Barbara,
As ever your integrity is impeccable and I think it may be time for me to revisit the Ancients(and maybe for the first time Hegel :) )
Yours
Kim
Last edited by Arising_uk on Thu Sep 08, 2011 2:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
Barbara Brooks
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Post by Barbara Brooks »

Arising_uk,

I thank you for your kind words I am honored .

Knowledge and truth are deemed good but good has a higher place that leads to order and virtue. The mind is merely an unconscious overseer that perceives nothing more than ideality. There are two agents of my mind, one, images or hypothetic opinion; the other is reason the higher principles that makes no use of images and opinion.

Reason is directly linked to everyone and without it; our actions would appear arbitrarily all mixed and entangled in appearance.

The same as rhythm and harmony in musical training imparts grace rhythm and harmony makes the philosopher who is rightly educated become noble and good, they are everywhere eager to make good have temperance, courage, liberality, and magnificence.

Philosophers must have grace, harmony, and conviction. The beautiful mind harmonized will be the fairest of sights. These principles are regulated by words. Words and conviction depend on the temperance and beauty, harmony, grace, and good. The same as rhythm depends on a temperate mind that perceive true nature of the beauty and grace; and receive the good and beauty shall flow into likeness with.

The mind rightly educated, become graceful, noble and good, and when reason comes, philosophers will recognize and salute it.

When like a musician the philosopher knows the letters exactly can they ever become educated? The philosopher who has an eye to see the beautiful harmonized sees the fairest of sights .The fairest is also the loveliest has the spirit of harmony will be most in love with the loveliest will know temperance, courage, kindness, and intelligence.

Barbara
Barbara Brooks
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Post by Barbara Brooks »

When I was in my early twenties someone gently came to me and told me that I must get understanding, which can only be got by slaving for it,. That is when I began write. Through some inherent goodness, I had my eyes opened little by little began looking at truth seeking knowledge of a kind that showed the things eternal not varying from generation and corruption.

I was drawn off into another channel absorbed in knowledge of a true philosopher. The philosophical nature the noble and gracious friend of knowledge which is always striving after truth—it is our nature; I cannot rest in only mere appearance by a sympathetic and kindred power in the mind and by that power drawing near and mingling and becoming incorporate with very being, having begotten mind and truth, we will have knowledge and will live and grow truly, and then, and not till then, cease from our travail.
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RickLewis
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Post by RickLewis »

In utopia, words spoken from wisdom or kindness would live forever, whereas those spoken in unwise haste or anger would be quickly forgotten. In an attempt to close the gap between this imperfect sphere and utopia, I've just deleted a few posts from the wee small hours of today when all UK-based forum-ites should have been asleep in bed anyway. Actually some of the posts were quite sensible, even poetic, but on the whole I think we'd better just start today again from scratch so I've wiped the whole lot.

This morning never happened! It was all just a dream! :roll:

Rick the Über-Censor


p.s. I promise I'm not going to make a habit of deleting stuff.
RachelAnn
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Post by RachelAnn »

Rick censored! Rick censored! I'm tellin' Mom!!
Barbara Brooks
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Post by Barbara Brooks »

Some people fall into the practice of thinking that they are reasoning when they are really disputing, because they cannot define and divide, and are merely verbal opposition in the spirit of arguing and not dialogue but verbal opposition.

If I myself believed that I knew what I was talking about: declaring the truth about matters of such high interest, which people honor and love. I have most need to be sure of my footing and I pray I do. For I do indeed believe that to do, an involuntary crime is a less crime than to be a deceiver about beauty or good or justice.

Courage is a sort of saving power of true opinion about real and false dangers. Under all circumstances intimate that in pleasure or in pain, or under desire or fear preserve and do not lose courage; it’s mightier agent than any soda lye; it is the mightiest of all other solvents for washing the soul of sorrow, fear, or desire.
Barbara Brooks
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Post by Barbara Brooks »

I mean that courage is a kind of salvation. Socrates gives an illustration by using dyers when they want to dye wool for making the true sea-purple, begin by selecting their white color first; this they prepare and dress with much care and pains, in order that the white ground may take the purple hue in full perfection. The dyeing then proceeds; and whatever is dyed in this manner becomes a fixed color, and no washing either with lyes or without them can take away the bloom. Courage is this too defends under all circumstances that opinion about the nature of things to be feared and not to be.

This is what Socrates termed courage, indelibly fixed by their nurture and training, not to be washed away by such potent lyes as pleasure --mightier agent far in washing the soul than any soda or lye; or by sorrow, fear, and desire, the mightiest of all other solvents. I called courage, this sort of universal saving power of true opinion in conformity with rules about real and false dangers,
Barbara Brooks
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Post by Barbara Brooks »

Socrates fell under the reprimand of the world. He believed the cowardly and mean, nature have no part in true philosophy.

How can philosophers who are harmoniously constituted, be jealous or mean, or boisterous cowards. Philosophers could never be unjust or hard in their dealings. Its dignity is not to be found in the arts.

This is why so many whose natures are flawed and who are maimed and disfigured by their meanness are thus attracted to philosophy. Is this unavoidable?

I believe the true lover of knowledge always strives after true being, this is their nature; they cannot rest in the multiplicity of personality, which is
only appearance.
Barbara Brooks
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Post by Barbara Brooks »

Grasp the truth and you will have no difficulty seeing that there is a conscious universal end that dominates our actions, universally lifts us out of the life of chance and change, into universalworld peace; only as citizens are we real and substantial characters.

Philosophers must work in life, to make everything that flows like a gentle wind from a purer region.

This is why musical training is the most effective instrument into the mind of a philosopher, because we find rhythm and harmony finds grace. Only when a musician knows the notes exactly can he or she ever become musical?

The same as the philosopher must harmonize and know the essential forms of temperance, courage, liberality, magnificence, and their kindred. Noble and good is the spirit of harmony turns out to be more valuable than knowledge has a place higher that leads to order and virtue. Reason is said to be the creator of knowledge and of truth. The spirit of harmony exceeds truth and knowledge is deemed to be like this spirit of harmony but has a place higher that leads to order and virtue.
mark black
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Post by mark black »

Grasp at the truth and fall flat on your face in the dirt - a seemingly possible illusion but an impossible leap from limited perception to universal generalization. Better to recognize all ideas as half truths and lies - and feel free to drop the least useful for one less useless, than invest a falsity with truth and be stuck with it when all its value is gone.
Have the the immoderate will to embrace change - to stir the stagnant waters of harmony, argue up a howling wind to clear the fetid fog of moralities past and see clearly the path to the future.
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