An cholainn is agamsa- blag macarónach

Táim bródúil as mo cholainn. I know that is rather a weird thing to say, ach táimse. Buaileadh tinn mé le deireannas, bhí inghalrú cuasa orm, rud a dheánann iarracht mé a leagadh ó ham go chéile. I was initially very dizzy (is gnách liom múisc a chur ag an dtráth sin, ach buíochas le dia ní an iarraidh seo), extremely weak and could barely stand. This normally lasts about a day, ach fós bím iontach méith, agus míobhán beag orm, is ní airím go bhfuilim i mbarr mo shea. I went to the doctor, go dtigh an diabhal leis má cheapann éinne go bhfuilim chun fulaingt, got my glorious medicine, and this morning the shivers and the temperature have gone away, is airím i bhfad níos fearr. Seans go rachaidh mé ar ais i mbun aclaíocht arís anocht, an rud is mó a chuireann as dom is mé tinn.

Anois, I think you I know you're going to say, ní hé mo chorp ar chóir domsa a bheith bródúil as, ach an dochtúir naofa beannaithe úd, a raibh de dheathoil aige oideas a scríobh amach dom, is gan ach cúpla cianóga le fáil aige féin. But, it was with my body, my wonderfully gloriously unique and complex body that they responded, is thiomáin sé ná bithín bithnamhdeacha bithiúnacha, a raibh dom bhithchrá is dom bhithghoradh, as mo bhinnchorp bithálainnn beo beathaíoch. Indeed, although I have the inability to control everything in my body, I am able to make sufficient changes, with my body, for the best outcome to occur. Is féidir liom rudaí a dhéanamh chun galar a thoirmeasc, is chun aclaíocht nó mé féin a bheathú ar chaoi a dheimhneodh go mbeadh torthaí dearfacha leis, tobac a sheachaint, aeráidí lán tobac a sheachaint, srian a choinneáil ar mo chuid drabhláis srl.


Ar chúis amháin, nó ar chúis éigin eile, chuir sé seo ag smaoineamh mé faoi aigne Dé (tá aigne in úsáid agam ar an tseanchiall, nádúr, is ní ar a mheon nó ar a intinn). If we take Chardin to be fact, that's a big if, but work with me, everything has a consciousness. From the inanimate to the animate, every element of the universe has at least a small degree of awareness. Fiú cloch, tá aithne ar chloch ar an imtharraingt, nó eleictreón, a bhfuil aithne aige ar dhearfacht nó dhiúltacht adaimh, le go rachadh sé isteach iontu nó nach rachadh. Humans are slightly different,he argues as we have a self-reflective consciousness, we are able to compare the without and the within, we can connect our inner world, our thoughts and our consciousness, with our outer interpretations of the world. If god exists, then he could one too. God, in fact, may be the combined consciousness of everything in the world, every atom, every molecule of existence, tá gach chomhfhios mar chuid de chomhfhios Dé, an chomhfhios ilíoch uileolaíoch. Indeed the consciousness of the universe.

How does this relate to the body. Well the human body is a self-reflective consciousness in control of a massive group of non-reflective concsiousnesses. Go pointe, tá a ghluaiseacht áirithe, is a fheidhm áirithe fein ag gach ball dár gcorp, nach bhfuil ag brath ar ár smaointeoireacht chomhfheasa. Níl smacht iomlán againn ar gach rud ann, ach is féidir linn rudaí a threorú le go dtiocfaidh an toradh is fearr as. Parts of are body have a free will, they are uncontrollable, we cannot prevent viruses from entering, we cannot prevent cancers from forming, but through positive action we can ensure that the best happens. God too, then is a self-reflective consciousness in command of a massive group of non-reflective consciousnesses. Tá gluaiseacht shaor acu, go háirithe againne, mar sin níl smacht indibhidiúil aige ar gach uile ní. Because of this free will and free movement, God cannot control everything, however, like the human and his body, he can institute small but positive changes that affect the overall trend of the world. As leibnitz put it, he can create the best of all possible worlds, but it won't be perfect. Díreach mar is féidir linn an corp is fearr ar féidir a chruthú, ach ní bheidh sé riamh foirfe. Ní bheimid riamh díonta ar gach olc. Thus we can no more expect god to prevent evil, than we can expect ourselves to prevent colds or flus from forming.


Just my random discursive musings, I'm sure I'll come up with more interesting stuff in the near future. Buíochas le dia go bhfuilim ag aireachtáil níos fearr.

Very interested to hear this Riadach. I would love to get back to you on the question of conciousness of inanimate objects (personally I don't think so, I think conciousness requires a brain) and on the history of these ideas. I will try tonight.

cactus flower wrote:

Very interested to hear this Riadach. I would love to get back to you on the question of conciousness of inanimate objects (personally I don't think so, I think conciousness requires a brain) and on the history of these ideas. I will try tonight.

It depends what you mean by consciousnesses. Have amoeba consciousnesses, even though they have no brain or no nervous system? Are the less aware of the world around them? If you point a pin at them, do they not move away? If they perceive food, do they not pursue it? One has to wonder then if an amoeba has a wordly awareness based on its small chemical composition, are non-living chemical compositions, to a much more limited extent, still aware of the world around them? Is the amoeba's only advantage that it can more visibly react to them? Are positive atoms not 'aware' of negative atoms? Is a magnet not 'aware' of metals? Is there not an element of the universe of awareness of what surrounds us, that has yet to be adequately explained?

I thought colainn was Irish for 'colon', which puts a diferent spin on that opening assertion. I presume you're proud of it too, as an entity with its own consciousness.

Who's Chardin?

905 wrote:

I thought colainn was Irish for 'colon', which puts a diferent spin on that opening assertion. I presume you're proud of it too, as an entity with its own consciousness.

Who's Chardin?

Pierre Teilhard Du Chardin, probably the only philosopher that I have read, aside from Maritain, who made sense to me. His book, the Omega point, is a cross-pollination of religious and scientific ideas which try to extrapolate the meaning of god. It's very interesting, and I doubt I've done it justice by putting my own unreasoned slant on things.

riadach wrote:

cactus flower wrote:

Very interested to hear this Riadach. I would love to get back to you on the question of conciousness of inanimate objects (personally I don't think so, I think conciousness requires a brain) and on the history of these ideas. I will try tonight.

It depends what you mean by consciousnesses. Have amoeba consciousnesses, even though they have no brain or no nervous system? Are the less aware of the world around them? If you point a pin at them, do they not move away? If they perceive food, do they not pursue it? One has to wonder then if an amoeba has a wordly awareness based on its small chemical composition, are non-living chemical compositions, to a much more limited extent, still aware of the world around them? Is the amoeba's only advantage that it can more visibly react to them? Are positive atoms not 'aware' of negative atoms? Is a magnet not 'aware' of metals? Is there not an element of the universe of awareness of what surrounds us, that has yet to be adequately explained?

MMmm I'm not a scientist, but I have the impression that magnetism is not an unexplained phenomenon.



What I mean by conciousness, I mean self-awareness.

My husband get cross sometimes because he says we know too much and there are no more mysteries. I think there are plenty of things that we don't know, but that doesn't mean they are unknowable, it just that we don't understand them yet. The level of sophistication of knowledge of magnetism and gravity is immensely greater than it was 50 years ago, and will continue to deepen.

Living beings can be alive and sensate without having conciousness. This is very handy when we have an operation and are under anaesthetic. An amoeba and a human being are both sensate, and both alive, but only the person has conciousness. Non-living matter is neither sensate nor concious. We understand magnetic attraction enough to know that it isn't a result of desire on behalf the material to get closer to the other mass.

I don't think stuff is any the less wonderful for the want of mystery.

Well what I mean by consciousness is not. Reflective consciousness is self awareness, being aware of the world around us and being aware of the self. Now, to be merely aware of the world around us does not require a brain, this is the consciousness I refer to. The amoeba in the above example, are aware of the world around them, without having either a sensory or a neurological system. Therefore, one wonders is there an awareness in the chemical compounds that make up the amoeba? Does awareness stop at life? I don't think any evidence has shown that it does, merely that awareness is more visible in life than anywhere else. All objects may indeed be aware of the forces and stresses applied upon them. This is not simply a question of desire.

i suppose it depends in part how you define awareness.