Philosophy Wire: Seeing. Without seeing. Photos. Lost souls…

Biologists grew human retina tissue from scratch to determine how cells that allow people to see in color are made. [1] Science working to see what we can see. But once more, science itself is blind to what is obvious to a small child. It is not the cells which see the colors. It is the soul. Imagine a world void of humans but full of digital cameras. Would you really claim that this cosmos has the sense of color? See the sparrow fly away. But be careful. Don’t take a photo. Because the photo will claim a soul. Not the soul of the sparrow. But yours… And the sparrow will keep flying… For as long as a child dreams of it…

PS. The above-mentioned example is a raw attempt to show the shallowness of materialism. But it is less raw than the ridiculous attempt to describe the pleasure of sensing a red rose during a sunny afternoon only in materialistic terms. Materialism today has grown to immense proportions and unfortunately the response to it cannot be as subtle as I may wish. There is no subtlety in fighting a fierce (ridiculous) dragon. 

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Philosophy Wire: The safest way… Castles in the sand…

A mobile app that guides pedestrians along the safest instead of quickest route to their destination is being developed by researchers at Cardiff University. [1] We cherish our life. Because we hate death. But we don’t know what death is. Because we have no idea what life is. But we love our life. We want to be safe. So as not to die. But we don’t know what death really is. Everything we know is castles on the sand. We must be kids again in order to remember. That the funniest thing about castles was them being swept away by the water…

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Philosophy Wire: DNA. Mosaics. Life.

We’re accustomed to thinking of our cells sharing an identical set of genes, faithfully copied ever since we were mere fertilized eggs. When we talk about our genome — all the DNA in our cells — we speak in the singular. But over the course of decades, it has become clear that the genome doesn’t just vary from person to person. It also varies from cell to cell. The condition is not uncommon: We are all mosaics. [1] All data point into the same direction. We are not we. There is no I. There is no self. Unless we think so. Do you feel you today? Wake up. Drink your milk. Go to work. You just destroyed a universe.

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Philosophy Wire: Sensing more… And more… And more… Until we sense no more…

Calcium is something of a double-edged sword. Too much of the essential element is as dangerous as too little, either case adversely affecting health in animals from humans to mice to fruit flies. Sensing calcium can be crucial. Though it doesn't fit into the five established tastes the tongue's receptors can identify - sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory (umami) - humans can taste it and describe it as slightly bitter and sour. [1] We love our senses. We believe in our dogmas which makes us feel better. We like being only matter. It removes all the stress and anxiety of responsibility. And if we have five (or six) senses, why not add up more? More senses mean more… “objectivity” right? More “senses” make more… sense don’t they? But take another look. Imagine yourself sensing everything. From calcium to fear to… colours. What would you be able to do? Would the world make more sense? Is there room for imagination and free will when you are fed with ALL possible data via your senses? Is there room for your “self” when you are consumed by what is not your “self”? If the brain is a barrier instead of a useful tool, the senses are the keys to our prison. And instead of opening the door, we lock it even more by adding more layers of interference between us and the cosmos. Imagine you, sensing everything. And you will understand that it is exactly then, that you sense absolutely nothing…

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Philosophy Wire: Brain malfunctions?

When brain lesions occur within the brain network responsible for morality and value-based decision-making, they can predispose a person toward criminal behavior, according to a research. [1] We tend to correlate malfunctions with immorality. But the world is not perfect. Neither is your mind. Or your brain. The cosmos is a dark place. And yet, it is in that darkness that the greatest good was born into. There is no point to seek morality in a perfectly functioning brain. There is no point to seek goodness in a perfectly functioning world. The best flowers, grow on dirt…

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Philosophy Wire: Fossilized brain. Then. Always. Not only now.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2017-06-29]: First known fossilized dinosaur brain unearthed, scientists claim. [1] We admire things. We have even degraded thought, this wonderful “something” which drives life, into a piece of mass. In time the brain is fossilized. Not the brain of the dinosaur. Our brain. Take a good look at this piece of mass. It has always been like that…

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Philosophy Wire: Material. Swarms. Bees.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2017-01-20]: A study announced that scientists have succeeded in demonstrating control over the interactions occurring among microscopic spheres, which cause them to self-propel into swarms, chains, and clusters. [1] We talk for ourselves as if we are matter. We talk about matter as if it had conscious and free will. Look at the swarm of bees coming towards you. Are you afraid they will sting you? Free will and consciousness are real and we experience them every day. And there is no bigger proof for them than the stupidity of humans these days. There is no matter. There are no swarms. Ah! They stung me!

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Philosophy Wire: Robots with senses. Illiterate humans.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2016-11-10]: Smart threads can be woven into pressure-sensitive electronic skin for robots or medical prosthetics. [1] We still refuse to learn. Technology is not enough for progress. Technology is irrelevant to education or knowledge. We spent thousands of year to understand that our senses are not enough for us to understand the cosmos. And yet we want to create robots with senses. Stupid children. Out of stupid parents. The new robots will be better than us in sensing the world. And yet the cosmos will be slightly more insensitive…

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Philosophy Wire: Coffee, cancer, living. [Against the mechanistic view]

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2016-08-22]: Coffee seems to be a shield against cancer. [1] We are so much into believing the universe and ourselves are just machines, that we look into other things that may “fix” us when we do not “operate” correctly. Like a computer, we are looking for the proper antivirus. But we are not computers. We are not machines. We are living, breathings souls. We do not live or die. We do not grow or decay. We are always children. And we will live for ever. No matter how much coffee we drink or not drink.

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Philosophy Wire: Lifeless universe. Carbonara.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2016-06-03]: Could the food we eat affect our genes? A study in yeast suggests this may be the case. [1] So the FOOD does affect the genes. And not the… CONSCIOUS FREE DECISION to eat what we eat?!? Universe. Some see it as a lifeless machine. Not because it is. But because they just WANT to. Hidden dogmatism. Everywhere you look. See that carbonara plate. The most tasteful proof for the existence of God…

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Philosophy Wire: Teleportation of humans. Hidden dogmatism.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2016-05-14]:

The teleportation of humans is far from being accomplished, according to scientists.
As if we know what man is.
Teleportation of what exactly?
Of matter?
Is that what we are?
Listen carefully to the simplest phrases. The cruelest dogmas are hidden within them…

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Philosophy Wire: Simple computers. We are not!

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2015-07-15]: We like to demonstrate how our brain is a computer. [1] But there was a time when we did not use our brain to perform subtractions and additions. There was a time when we “just” sensed and understood the cosmos. We used not to use our brain to analyze things. We used to sense the whole. We stopped being humans and we want to be like the machines. How cowardice. How human…

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Search the garbage... There is no matter! / Ψάξε τα σκουπίδια... Δεν υπάρχει ύλη!

There is no matter as such, as Planck said.

Search the "garbage" of Harmonia Philosophica.

They might contain gold...

Δεν υπάρχει ύλη, σύμφωνα με τον Πλανκ.

Ψάξε τα "σκουπίδια" της Αρμονικής Φιλοσοφίας.

Μπορεί να περιέχουν χρυσό...

Philosophy Wire: Brain. Materialism. Dogmatism. How to read Harmonia Philosophica.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-12-15]: Researchers have successfully replicated a direct brain-to-brain connection between pairs of people as part of a scientific study following the team's initial demonstration a year ago. [1]

So?

It may sound impressive.
But NO: This does not mean anything concerning the human mind/ spirit/ soul philosohpical debate.

Read Harmonia Philosophica again.
Search for "brain", "against materialism", "dogmatism" et cetera.
And you will find the answer.

I cannot write the same things over and over again.

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Philosophy Wire: Wine tasting. Technology. Human experience.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-11-06]: In Denmark, researchers have created an artificial tongue and wine connoisseur, a wine tasting robot that might unseat the entire fraternity of wine critics in the near future. The robot has been built to determine whether expensive wine actually tastes any better than the cheap stuff. In an article published in ACS Nano, the researchers claim that an optical nanosensor, based on surface plasmon resonance, can detect how one experiences the dryness in wine. Another claim made by the researchers, one that will not go down well with wine tasters, is that the nanosensor can detect the tannins — the textural element in wine that makes it taste dry — better than those Belgian wine tasters. [1] But how can a robot taste? How can it feel without understanding what "feel" means? Take the glass into your hands. Taste the wine. Without analyzing it. In every sip the whole world. No chemistry. No physics. Just you and your loved ones.

Try to taste THAT you stupid robot!

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Philosophy Wire: Health. Google. Stupidity. Materialism.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-09-16]: Google X sets out to define healthy human. [1] But all bodies finally die. Isn't there something weird in wanting to die healthy?

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Philosophy Wire: Useless DNA...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-09-14]: Most of the DNA seems useless. [1] I would say it is completely useless. Are you just a complicated rock? Are you your DNA? Or a master of yourself? How much do you believe in the impossible?

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Philosophy Wire: Boltzman Brains. Materialism. Scientific dogmatism.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-06-25]: In order to get rid of the problem of Boltzman Brains [1] researchers propose new quantum mechanics models where quantum fluctuations are dependent on interactions with an external system or particle, known as an "observer". [2]

But WHY get rid of the Boltzmann Brains if they are totally possible for science?
Why IMPOSE our philosophical DOGMAS on any kind of thought?
Why should the "observer" be in quotes?
Why should the observer be a "system" or a "particle" and not YOU? Me? Us?
Why should any kind of scientific breakthrough be filtered through the grid of materialism until nothing but... matter is left?

Thought our subjectivity, let's all try to be objective.
We are Boltzmann Br... sorry I meant "Humans", after all! ;)

Oh and something else! If Boltzmann Brains are immaterial, why are they called... brains?

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