Understanding What Experience Means

[hitssquad]

Philosophical definition of experience

Wow, did no one read any of my posts? The word can certainly have more than two meanings- I've already pointed out five. That is why I asked if quddusaliquddus had a specific kind of experience in mind.

It seems people here generally may have in mind as the definition of experience that most relates to philosophy this:

• 8 philosophy a : the act or process of perceiving or apprehending <experience is a matter of the interaction of organism with its environment, and environment that is human as well as physical, that includes the materials of tradition and institutions as well as local surroundings — John Dewey> b : the content or the particular result of such experience c : the discriminative reaction or the nonconscious response of an organism to events or happenings within its environment

 

[honestrosewater]

If everyone agrees on a definition, great. If one person doesn't know what the other is talking about, what's the point of having a discussion? That's why I don't think my comments were mere squabbling.
I didn't mean to offend anyone, and I'm not offended if anyone ignores me- just flabbergasted.
Happy thoughts
Rachel

 

[quddusaliquddus]

If everyone agrees on a definition, great. If one person doesn't know what the other is talking about, what's the point of having a discussion? That's why I don't think my comments were mere squabbling.
I didn't mean to offend anyone, and I'm not offended if anyone ignores me- just flabbergasted.
Happy thoughts
Rachel

"I don't think there is *a* definition ;)"

If there was 'a' definition we wouldn't be having this discussion. Thats why "If everyone agrees on a definition, .." is not so great as, we wouldn't be exchanging ideas on this thread. What is experience is synonymous with what is the definition of experience as obviously other than using words to define it - we have no other way to answer the question. Please dnt be too flabbergasted :D

 

[honestrosewater]

If only there was an emoticon for the way I'm feeling! Something like / / /

I think our words are getting in the way. Perhaps an example can clear thing up:
If someone asked me, "Does a rock have experiences?", then I would reply, "It depends on what you mean by 'experiences'."
If someone asked, "When I step on a rock, does it experience the same thing I experience?" I think that is sufficient to begin a fruitful discussion. Do you see the difference between the two questions? The comparison in the second provides the definition.

Yes.I meant human experiences

This is what I was trying to get you to say when I asked if you had a specific kind of experience in mind and when I asked for a tentative definition.

I think I see now why you resisted providing one. I don't think a definition is death to the discussion. The point of the definition is to clarify what you're talking about when clarification is needed- pain and gravity are both commonly called experiences, but there are differences between them. Saying that one of them is not an experience is misguided if you haven't yet clarified the definition of experience; it's the same as saying one of them cannot be a definition.

Please, someone say they understand what I'm saying.

Happy thoughts
Rachel

 

[loseyourname]

In terms of human experience imagine a 2 year old being ignored or worse, being badgered by a drunken father/mother. This is an experience the toddler would not have any benchmarks to compare with. The experience is weathered but the toddler is unaware of the impinging effects and influences this environment has on his/her development etc.

Ha, you're making me get really specific here. I'm speaking of mental experience when I say human experience. The human body going through an experience without the mind being aware of it is no different than an inanimate object going through the same experience (although the effects may be different, depending on the phyical and chemical properties of the matter in question).

I'm going to have to go back and see what rosewater is talking about, though. I can't think of more than these two definitions for experience.

 

[loseyourname]

By the way, I really shouldn't call it "human" experience. There is no reason to believe that other animals do not experience events in the same way.

 

[honestrosewater]

Feeling better

Perhaps it would be better to say five levels of the experience hierarchy.

You could even group them loosley along the same lines of what the different sciences study, ex.
physics
chemistry
biology
psychology/social sciences

The last one, a certain level of consciousness, is more a sublevel, but whatever, I think you get the point.

 

[quddusaliquddus]

I didn't want to impose a restriction on the question I put so as to broaden the dicussion as much as possible...but I get your point. I think we have to include all experiences into the definition otherwise it wouldn't be a very good one...generalisation helps at this point.

 

[p-brane]

Ha, you're making me get really specific here. I'm speaking of mental experience when I say human experience. The human body going through an experience without the mind being aware of it is no different than an inanimate object going through the same experience (although the effects may be different, depending on the phyical and chemical properties of the matter in question).

I'm going to have to go back and see what rosewater is talking about, though. I can't think of more than these two definitions for experience.

Let me put it this way.

The human body has enough receptors and sensors and responders to pick up most and/or all of the information (ie: stimulus) being presented to that body at anytime during the life of the body. No?

So, at anyone time during our lives we are experiencing the exact measurments of every bit of matter in our vicinity and beyond. We are experiencing the X-rays, Gamma rays, news casts as radio frequencies, all sorts of info that we screen and filter so we can concentrate on our Alpha Bits in the morning. The brain is as much of a sensor as the nerve ending that serves as a sensor on the end of your big toe. But it does have a filtering process.

The experience of all of this info is being "experienced" by these receptors, sensors and responders but the information is shunted past the area of the brain that processes the info into a consciousness or awareness of the info and re-directs the info to the subconscious storage areas. The experience has happened and has been recorded. It is also useful in day to day survival and interaction. But, the "mind" is not aware of the experiences it has absorbed... yet... it is benefiting, as is the rest of the body, from the information gleened from the experience(s).

Just another example of an autonomic experencial behavior modifer.

I don't define experience as some sort of airy fairy magical thing that happens when you sneeze at the same time as your girlfriend.

Experience, to me, is one thing and one thing only. The stimulation, excitation and reaction of chemicals and or neurons.

This concludes my broadcast with regard to this subject. Thank you for putting up with me. I hope the experience for you was at least half of what it was for me!

 

[loseyourname]

I think we're just going to have to disagree here. I still don't think you have effectively been able to group a mental experience with a physical experience. A big toe separated from the foot will still have the same sensory capability for a brief while, but it will not experience pain in the same way that the mind does while the toe is still attached. I don't see how you can downplay the importance of awareness. You can't honestly believe that a block of concrete experiences rainfall in the same way that you do.