Patrick, Erin,
PATRICK:
"[Psychology on the whole] treat[s]
the psyche as dependend on the brain which is just an organ with a
highly accidental (one is inclined to say 'meaningless') phylogenetical
and ontogenetical history..."
>From your colourful language I get the impression that you'd rather
think the psyche is not dependent on the brain? If so, then you are in
the same company as Pirsig.
Erin, I haven't read Contact or seen the movie. I like Sagan because, like
Steven J. Gould (who just passed away), he helped to popularize science and
give it a human face, and probably sacrificed a good portion of his career
as a practicing scientist doing it. While I agree with him that making
contact with aliens from outer space would be wonderful and amazing, I think
the whole SETI thing is a waste of time, since the odds of making contact are
probably very low.
ERIN:
"Do you see any danger (danger as in oversimplification of the common
destination of truth) in your skepticism of mysticism?"
No.
I thought your joke about the thermos was amusing. However, it may have
drawn a frown from the faithful here because if thermos's are
inorganically aware, as the MOQ says, then it's perfectly reasonable to
think that the thermos knows about temperature and reacts on that basis.
Who needs science when you have ready explanations like this?
Unless you're the type to tell rabii jokes at a rabinical conference, you
might try being more sensitive to your audience in the future.
I agree that psychology is in a sorry state. This is undoubtedly because
the hair-brained ideas of chaps like Freud and Jung set the science back
about 100 years.
Glenn
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