From: Ham Priday (hampday@verizon.net)
Date: Wed Dec 07 2005 - 08:06:24 GMT
Hi Arlo --
Thanks for providing an opportunity to test the new e-mail system.
> [Ham]
> In MoQ terms, consciousness is SOM; for the Essentialist, it is an
attribute > of the individual.
> [Arlo]
> Some questions maybe you will take the time to answer... Where does this
> attribute come from? Did my consciousness exist before my birth? Would >
you say a "human being" left at birth on a deserted island twenty years
later > has a "consciousness" that is different than the "consciousness" of
a cat? If > so, is "consciousness" a feature of human DNA? Or is it bestowed
on
> those born "human" by a "higher power"?
I'm only too happy to answer, because it is fundamental to the
Essentialist's position.
For those who see the logic of a Primary Source, the "primary difference"
that accounts for relational existence is Otherness. By definition, for an
other to exist it must be the object of awareness. This makes reality
subjective. But, whereas the objective world of appearances is universal,
subjective awareness is proprietary to the individual. Thus, the notion of
a "collective consciousness" or consciousness in the absence of a subject
has no metaphysical validity.
As with everything else in our relative world, consciousness in the living
organism develops over time and the level of consciousness varies among the
species. What distinguishes man from other creatures is two-fold: awareness
of self, and sensibility of value. The former facilitates intellectual
understanding, while the latter affords the choices by which man changes his
world in ways not achieveable by instinctual responses. Together, these
attributes give man the freedom of self-determination which is not shared by
lesser creatures. One would have to concede that man is, indeed, a
"special" creation.
These hypothetical questions about growing up in a box, being left on a
desert island, and the effects of social isolation are cynical attempts to
challenge proprietary awareness. But in fact, they don't. You and I and
every other human being from adolescence onward has self-awareness and
value-sensibility, irrespective of his or her environmental conditions. The
only exception to this would be individuals suffering from autism or severe
brain damage, and even these maladies do not preclude cognizant awareness.
I continue to be amazed at the efforts of MoQ participants like yourself to
refute the proprietary nature of conscious awareness and man's role as the
world's decision-maker. Perhaps you can explain to me why this seemingly
self-evident principle is so repugnant to you.
Regards,
Ham
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