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Debate: The hardest question

Forum member Johnny raised a fundamental question - one we might never answer

04 Nov
2008

Jupiter Images A bronze of Rodin's The Thinker

Say we where just a just a bunch of chemical and physical reactions with no cognition, no thought, no good, no bad, no right or wrong?

I know its hard to imagine, its hard to explain - maybe someone could. I am sure I am not the first person to arrive here at this conclusion.

I'm sure you will see a contradiction in this but a lot of thought got me to this point but does anyone else believe this?

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what is the hardest question to answer?

Archive Comments

One with no answer just opinion.
like purpose of life
god
religion

well just say we where just a just a bunch of chemical and physical reactions with no cognition no thought no good no bad no right or wrong
I know its hard to imagine its hard to explain maybe someone could i am sure i am not the first person to arrive here at this conclusion
i'm sure you will see a contradiction in this but a lot of thought got me to this point but does anyone else believe this

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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"what is the hardest question to answer?"
Is obviously the hardest question to answer.

It involves determining the hardest question, that in turn requires finding a criteria of difficulty that is universal and absolute...

By 'self-definition' the hardest question to answer is -
What is the hardest question to answer?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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[Moderator: repeated post removed - refers to post #36]

urm, didn't you just prove yourself wrong?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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One with no answer just opinion.
like purpose of life
god
religion

well just say we where just a just a bunch of chemical and physical reactions with no cognition no thought no good no bad no right or wrong
I know its hard to imagine its hard to explain maybe someone could i am sure i am not the first person to arrive here at this conclusion
i'm sure you will see a contradiction in this but a lot of thought got me to this point but does anyone else believe this

then you answer based on the consequences of that opinion showing your character or the character you want projected.

so is it harder to examine the world or yourself?

is it harder to be truthful or honest?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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The hardest question to answer will start with 'Why'.

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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The hardest question to answer will start with 'Why'.

or "WILL"? "Will"? "Will"? Will? will?

but I predict this will only be until the future becomes as certain as the past

(just as trite but more accurate)

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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or "WILL"? "Will"? "Will"? Will? will? but I predict this will only be until the future becomes as certain as the past.
(just as trite but more accurate)

My disappointment is slightly relieved by wry amusement from watching the animals renting asunder a gift whose purpose they cannot understand.

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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My disappointment is slightly relieved by wry amusement from watching the animals renting asunder a gift whose purpose they cannot understand.

what sort of twisted blister gives a potatoe peeler to a mouse then stands back and smiles?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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What sort of twisted blister gives a potatoe peeler to a mouse then stands back and smiles?

God? .

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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God?                    .

barba tenus sapientes

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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Try "should I be asking this question?"

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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"Am I asking this question?"

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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"Am I asking this question?"

...try as well.......who am I really ?......its the most difficult one to answer because it requires us all to be really honest with ourselves...........all this intelligent stuff........lets go down the pub for a pint and keep it all in perspective.

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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don't you have to be thick to "go down the pub for a pint"?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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don't you have to be thick to "go down the pub for a pint"?

.......no, but you do have to be sociable and willing to hear others ideas......evolved or unevolved as they may be.

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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sounds like torture ...is that why they serve alcohol?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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sounds like torture  ...is that why they serve alcohol?

...climb out of your cobweb my friend.......life is for living. Death will come to all soon enough.

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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...climb out of your cobweb my friend.......life is for living. Death will come to all soon enough.

is there anyone alive on this net who can tell me........has science killed off theology and philosophy.......or have they emigrated into the wilderness ?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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is there anyone alive on this net who can tell me........has science killed off theology and philosophy.......or have they emigrated into the wilderness ?

I'm guessing the answers are: no, no and no

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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or; why are there ultimate questions?

as for the latter part of the post, the materialists view cannot explain why we are aware/conscious.

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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you sure?

I am material and all my subjectiveness characterises my material.

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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quite sure yes, we are debating it at ilp [i love philosophy] forums, so far no one has explained how the brain is aware ~ and they have gone into great detail about how the brain works. secondly i don’t think empiricism last the full mile, after a point there is little difference between subjective and objective information ~ the material world is composed of sets of relationships and is essentially empty, as so is the subjective world.

the material arises from the immaterial [i don’t mean is created from].

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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stimulation to trigger?

I'm wondering if the brain is to stupid to be aware and is down to toxicity that makes us aware.

the brain is just modelling what it gets fed.

want to be aware? ...leave your brain alone and slow your heart rate?

logic is just logic its fun but it doesnt prove as much as consensus!

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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stimulation to trigger?

the brain is just modelling what it gets fed.

The brain doesn't model, behaviour is the model, the subconcious mind is always active processing conscious thought and stimulus.

want to be aware? ...leave your brain alone and slow your heart rate?

Is this a reference to mantra meditation?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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does mantra meditation leave your brain alone and slow your heart rate?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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does mantra meditation leave your brain alone and slow your heart rate?

The conscious brain goes into some kind of sleep mode (the idea being that if you say the same mantra, word, over and over again, the brain either gets bored or is not sure what to do and goes into sleep mode, but while you're awake) and the heart rate slows as if the body is in a very deep sleep, almost coma-like. Some people think it's a good thing but I don't recommend it!

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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well it makes you more aware of your awareness ~ as over and above mental processes. people who undertake it regularly are not so bound to the idea that we are chemical robots!

so i would recommend it :D

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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well it makes you more aware of your awareness ~ as over and above mental processes. people who undertake it regularly are not so bound to the idea that we are chemical robots! 

so i would recommend it :D

How do you know it makes you more aware? We know so very little about it? The people I've met who did it became 'strange' and paranoid, so for that reason I don't recommend it.

I hope you're not one of those people who, as soon as someone says don't, must do?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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How do you know it makes you more aware? We know so very little about it? The people I've met who did it became 'strange' and paranoid, so for that reason I don't recommend it.

I hope you're not one of those people who, as soon as someone says don't, must do?

I bet anyone who spends 40 days in the wilderness... ...not to mention 40 nights is into it.

...from denial to paranoia as you go along Via Dolorosa

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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I bet anyone who spends 40 days in the wilderness...   ...not to mention 40 nights is into it. 

...from denial to paranoia as you go along Via Dolorosa

nights was added to show that it was 40 full days.

everyone has their wilderness!

as for the Via Dolorosa, I can't walk that path, it was destined for one person only.

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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The one you just asked well done :-)

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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How about, "Do you appear to have a witless guardian angel?"

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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The one you just asked well done :-)

Someone tell Admin this thread is cooked.

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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well it makes you more aware of your awareness ~ as over and above mental processes. people who undertake it regularly are not so bound to the idea that we are chemical robots! 

so i would recommend it :D

ahem, are you trying to tippy-toe us in the back door of "nothing"?

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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well i am of viking descent so i would bash the front door in if needs be lols

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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lol........

Re: what is the hardest question to answer?

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Hi Johnny,
That's certainly the sort of question that is hardest to answer. There is a great deal we know about life, but we still struggle with the basics like what it actually is and how it comes about.

The problem I see in your post (not commenting on grammar or punctuation :-) ) is you say you have reached a conclusion, but you don't make it clear what your conclusion is. If it's that we are nothing more than chemical reactions with no thought, then how do you reconcile that with the amount of thinking you say got you to where you are?

Thinking of a living creature as chemical reactions is like thinking of the London Underground as nuts and bolts. They are there as components but are many levels of detail removed from describing the system.

Do not worry that science cannot (yet) explain things like this. It may never. There are things we understand that other animals cannot. It may be that there are limits to our own capability to understand things like life.

As for God and religion, that sort of question can never be answered. Believers see evidence all around them. Disbelievers can point to things previously ascribed to God that are now fully explained by science; but you can never prove the non-existence of anything - only that it is either discovered, or not yet found. Good luck with your continued exploration of philosophical questions.

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