A thought worth thinking ( or maybe not)

[Deepak K Kapur]

I am a materialist (99%) and believe that if somebody hits something on my head with force, all my emotions, feelings, thoughts and even life would vanish in an instant.

Yet, a few days ago something happened like this...

I was sitting in my room at night and there was an electric cut. Darkness engulfed the room. Suddenly, I saw a mysterious light in the room. I got curious and ultimately it turned out to be a firefly (so much for curiosity).

Suddenly, a thought appeared in my mind as follows:

If I had not been in the room and there would have been no one else also in this universe to look at the firefly, would the firefly still exist?

Suddenly, I have posted it here. Thanks.

 

[Crake]

yes.

 

[Enigman]

Okay, this is an old philosophical question being paraphased ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_a_tree_falls_in_a_forest
Philosophy isn't supposed to be allowed in the fora.

 

[consciousness]

If we say it would exist then it would. Wow! that was deep!

 

[Drakkith]

Of course it would exist. Your question assumes that there is a firefly to look at.

 

[Enigman]

If we say it would exist then it would. Wow! that was deep!

I say you don't, so you don't!

 

[consciousness]

I say you don't, so you don't!

Indeed if you say I don't then I don't...(To you that is )

 

[Deepak K Kapur]

Of course it would exist. Your question assumes that there is a firefly to look at.

Let me give another example.

When micro-organisms were first proposed, people mocked at the idea and said that life cannot be so small as what would be its purpose and so on and so forth.

When people got signals of a bacteria through a microscope (and through various other indirect means), they started believing it.

When I see a firefly, all that is being done is that certain signals are being interpreted by the human brain (normal brain) in a particular way. If there are no signals or no brain to interpret them, what remains of the firefly.

In other words, it's possible that other living beings like insects or birds etc. don't see the firefly at all. They may view it to be totally different if we could ever take a snapshot from their angle.

It may also mean (IMHO), that at the very moment there may be countless invisible creatures accompanying the firefly because we are not able to receive signals from them. If in future, if we are able to do so (by an instrument, suppose) we would say that spirits (or whatever) exists and then we would be ready to mold the physical laws to fit the new picture.

I am in no way saying that the present physicals laws are wrong, but simply that human make (or discover?) laws when they are able to sense or see things. It's our sense or perception that seems to be rule the roost.

 

[Enigman]

Okkkaaay, recognition can not occur without cognition, so?
A telly show you might like- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1714204/

 

[D H]

Philosophy isn't supposed to be allowed in the fora.

Exactly.

Thread closed.