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Jason Baumle
Hi Robert,
Thank you for sharing this essay. You’ve written on a subject that I’m deeply interested in. I appreciate how you’ve framed your thoughts on existence.
I think Robert Sapolski is an incredible academic, thinker, speaker/writer. I was happy to see you reference his work and position on free will. I believe he makes a strong case as does Daniel Dennett. I have an intuitive resistance towards accepting a view that consciousness is just a feature of a working nervous system, or that determinism, in this case a lack of free will, is what is happening in existence. But those two thinkers, among others have really challenged me to explore how I could articulate what my resistance is to their arguments.
Have you read Terrance Deacon’s The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution of Language and the Brain? I found it to be incredibly challenging to intuitive, attachment at this point haha, sense of consciousness. I think Deacon provides an incredibly detailed argument.
But my favourite part about your essay is that it reminds me of how I feel when I read and contemplate Zen. It seems to me that you’re not writing to explain existence but rather to frame your experience and perception of it so that you can be in it coherently in peacefully harmonious terms. Is that right?
Response from Human Existence
Thank you for your interest. Sorry for the delayed response. Apparently, you have done much research and reading regarding this subject. Frankly, I have not read the books you mentioned. This attempt is a result of the accumulated stimuli of my existence. Mind you, it needs improvements.
Primarily, there are three set of initial conditions that humans can never decode, the birth of existence, the start of life, the beginning of consciousness. As such, the invention of symbols and languages allows humans using them to create perceived, imagined and construct what they believe is reality. On the other hand, all other biological entities live reality without questioning what it is. Certainly, it is not for me to say that they do not imagine or construct their reality. My statement is my construction of reality for them with my words.
In our world of ‘realities’, we can then question the words, free and will. Free means no restriction. Will means making decision to act. Decision is made because stimuli received demand a decision to act. If there are no stimuli received, there is no decision to be made. As such, all biological entities act upon stimuli, the restrictions and it’s not free. It is free though when the universe, life and conscious is created. One might argue that the initial conditions for life and consciousness were restricted by the existence of the universe first, hence it is not free, but the word, will is not proper in this context.
I am not a writer. The usage of word in exchanging thoughts is not an easy task.
For instance, Descartes’ I think, therefore I am. Is applicable for human centric thoughts. My ‘I think, I do not Think, I am.’ Can is my thought that is applicable to all biological entities. Using words to define the word existence is evident in these two scenarios, isn’t it? I have not studied Zen. I do know that I am human with using words to construct this reality. How other biological entities thought about me in reality, I do not know in our world of realities. I am just trying to go beyond the human centric thinking to define the word, existence, hence reality itself.
Very interesting. You have had a great life so far! Glad to play golf with you today. Regards, John
Excellent essay