So different, yet so similar.
I have always found living quite a fascinating experience simply because of the inevitable subjectivity it comes with. Subjectivity concerning what, someone might ask. Any conceptual creation deriving from the human cognition would be the answer. Anything that does not exist in the physical world and cannot be described by the sciences of physics,chemistry and biology. A tree is an objective reality when the concept of democracy is not. A human is an objective reality when the European Union is not. Similarly the concept of justice does not objectively exist. Like any other concept, justice is represented by a series of characters, conducted into a specific order (which in this particular case derive from the Modern English Alphabet) forming a word. The pre-described procedure has resulted into the creation of thousands of different words, making our everyday communication much easier. The problem that is created lies within the subjectivity of the words, since anyone can interpretate any concept diffrently based on his own understanding of the world.
My difficulty is only an — enormous — difficulty of expression
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Exactly the same applies to the concept of life. Someone can ask: What is life? There is not an objective asnwer to that. Each and every one of us understands and defines each concept in his own unique way,and behaves upon that specific understanding. But where this uniqueness comes from? How can so many people share so many physical,emotional and cognitive similarities, yet can be so different from one another?
Based on my (personal and possibly wrong) understanding it comes down to three major factors. The Genetics,Cognitive and Experiential factors.
The Genetics Factor relates to any possible genetic characteristic that comes with your birth. Egoistic Genes, Possible Hapiness Levels, etc. The thing about them is that you will never be able to control them. You did not choose them, and you cannot get rid of them. Think about them like random traits bestowed upon your character in the beginning of a huge RPG game. The Genetics Factor will continue to affect your life and for the most part you wont be aware of it.
The Cognitive Factor deals with the human cognition as an inborn characteristic, the ability of the human's to cooperate in mass numbers through the common belief in imaginery stories (money,nations,religions etc). This is primarily the reason we humans have evolved and were able to construct everything that we seearound us today. Without believing in common stories we would not be able totrust someone we dont know simply because we cannot be sure about his motives etc. But when we both have faith in something in common and we both think that this is how we will be successful,happy, beautiful etc, then the trust factor seems to be bypassed quite easily.
So as much as we want to deny it, common myths and fantasies float around our everyday life like ducks in a pool. So why haven't we been able to get rid of them or atleast minimize the inevitable drawbacks that they come with? (fanatism,genocides, etc)
Its because of the third factor, the Experiential one. Those imaginery stories are connected with the material world around us and most importantly with the people we care about, blending the cognitive with the emotional part. So its not so simple to just reject any kind of bullshit you have been told since you were born because those things are the ones (atleast in a small percentage) that defined you in the first place! They are the stories/experiences that whether you like it or not, shaped you as a person and subconsciously created the concept of your individual identity in your mind. And you cannot consciously delete memories/experiences just because you choose too, no matter how hard you try. They will always be there,maybe your brain pushes them in the back so you cant easily be able to recall them, but subconsciously you will always be affected by them.
So I think that each human is affected by his genetical characteristics, defined by his evolved cognition and caged by his experiential part. The moment you will be able to consciously understand this is the moment when you will be partially (dont forget the subconscious part) liberated. By using our logic in combination with science we can atleast understand (or think we can) how our mind works. Based on what I have already explained it is almost impossible to get rid of our cognitive creations and even if we did then we would have to face our experiential part. So in the end, I would presume that there cannot be an objective reality, just the one we consciously choose to believe in, influenced by our genetic and subconscious factors. So I would personally urge you to read as much as you want, think as much as you want, act as much as you want but when the time comes, accept your human nature and just be.
Η ζωή δεν έρχεται με νόημα, πρέπει εμείς να της δώσουμε και μετά να πείσουμε τον εαυτό μας να το ξεχάσει.
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Peace out,
FlusterFive
Very nice and thorough analysis. I would also add the collective unconscious as an influence but that is for the Jung enthousiasts 😊
Good point, though I tend to be a Harari one haha :D
Very nice!!!!
👌👌👌👌👌
Thank you!
Good stuff. Some of my thoughts:
Can't we overcome this 'subjectivity' by clearly defining what words mean and agreeing on those definitions? For example:
What about "the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual"? That seems like a reasonable definition of 'life' to me.
Ofcourse, you can argue that everyone has his own interpretation of what the words making up that definition in their turn mean, such as 'existence' and 'individual'. But again, I don't think that's an insurmountable problem. People can use their reason and abstract thinking to arrive at definitions they can all agree on.
As you stated yourself, clearly these shared stories and myths have had a very useful purpose in the development of mankind. So why should we get rid of them? Why not just do our best to distinguish good 'common beliefs' from bad ones?
Unless ofcourse you believe that their is no 'good' or 'bad', 'right' or 'wrong'. Which a postmodern idea I don't subscribe too myself.
Doesn't science fall under these 'cognitive creations', as you defined them? Isn't that basically one way of looking at the world that a bunch of people decided on was a good idea?
What I think you're trying to say is, that we should rid ourselves of superstition and tacit assumptions. Which is the basic tenet of humanism. Welcome to the club!
Thank you for your quick and insightful response!
About your first comment: I completely agree,but I tend to be skeptical about the possibility of two individuals reaching at an agreement for a common definition simply because you can never be sure about the other person's motives,experiences, knowledge.(But in the end I also believe my approach tends to be quite absolute and holistic, so dont bother haha)
About the second comment: I think it depends from whose perspective you examine the issue. As an entire human race improvement strategy your suggestions are more than enough. But what happens when we are looking at it from a quite narrow POV like the one of the ruling elite? Does their survival depend on our blind belief in these stories? ;)
I do believe that there is right or wrong and good or evil but at the same time I reject them as pure human constucts. (But I would like to explain my whole ''amazing'' theory before judging so let's not do it here haha)
About your third comment: No comment. I got wrecked. :D
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