Notes from under the bus...... to Monadnock

First topic message reminder :

To get to Notes from the Underground you have to go by way of Fathers and Sons and What to Do.  That will take you back to the mid eighteen hundreds....... it’s been a trip, and we’re almost done.

We’re still left with the question of what to do....... modulo communism and existentialism.  

In a pre Millennial frame, I’d been advocating (a portal-centric) communalism for the duration of the Millennium.  

In post Millennialism, ie. modulo the Millennium, we have to readdress the question of what to do, ie. come up with an action item for the Princess.  

(continues in post #2......)

I liked the Sean Carol/Max discussion, thanks.

I can’t say if it’s all math or not or care.

I didn’t need to know the math to be here thankfully.

I would rather enjoy the evening ocean breeze than know the physics math behind it.

When you can explain that feeling Gary, love to chat.

Til then, just breathin here.

Philip Goff has an an article on cosmopsychism....... https://aeon.co/essays/cosmopsychism-explains-why-the-universe-is-fine-tuned-for-life ......

The cosmopsychist need not think of the conscious Universe as having human-like mental features, such as thought and rationality. Indeed, in my book I suggested that we think of the cosmic consciousness as a kind of ‘mess’ devoid of intellect or reason. However, it now seems to me that reflection on the fine-tuning might give us grounds for thinking that the mental life of the Universe is just a little closer than I had previously thought to the mental life of a human being.

Hmmm...... we don’t say.  

Leslie proposes that this proper understanding of the problem points us in the direction of the best solution: the laws are fine-tuned because their being so leads to something of great value. Leslie is not imagining a deity mediating between the facts of value and the cosmological facts; the facts of value, as it were, reach out and fix the values directly.

Ok.....


1:40.........

In a later blog post...... https://conscienceandconsciousness.com/2018/04/24/a-change-of-heart-on-fine-tuning/  Goff refers to an article (2000) by Roger White...... http://web.mit.edu/rog/www/papers/fine_tuning.pdf

In fact almost everyone who has written on the topic accepts that the fine-tuning facts count in favor of multiple universes, even if they are not persuaded that there are other universes. But they are mistaken, or so I will argue. Perhaps there is independent evidence for the existence of many universes. But the fact that our universe is fine-tuned gives us no further reason to suppose that there are universes other than ours. I will examine the two main lines of reasoning found in the literature from fine- tuning to multiple universes to see where they go wrong.
...........

Hence if we happened to know, on independent grounds, that there are many universes, the fine-tuning facts would give us little reason to question whether the big bang was an accident, and hence our knowledge of the existence of many universes would render the fine-tuning of our universe unsurprising. However, postulate as many other universes as you wish, they do not make it any more likely that ours should be life-permitting or that we should be here. So our good fortune to exist in a life-permitting universe gives us no reason to suppose that there are many universes.

However, Goff goes back to the acceptance multiverse.  I would say that, under peer pressure, he chickens out.  


3:50........

Now, I’m onto another article, apparently also by Goff, but it is posted without identification........ https://philarchive.org/archive/GOFCMA .... Cosmopsychism, Micropsychism and the Grounding Relation


6:10.........

There are just over four thousand independent mentions of ‘cosmopsychism’, according to google.  

I have seen no instance of an author suggesting that cosmopsychism might entail a small world...... nothing such as the SWH/CTC/BPWH.  

This fact demonstrates the pervasiveness of academic peer pressure.  

This is why I threw in the academic towel in 1981 when I experienced my personal gestalt switch from quantum dualism to immaterialism.

I was terribly relieved, five years into quantum dualism, to be able to walk out the academic door, never having to look back at conventional, Big Bang cosmology.  

I can imagine the academic ants, scurrying to find shelter, now that a metaphysical stick, panpsychism, has been thrust into their once airtight nest.  

Good luck, guys and gals.  The Eschaton, itself, is not much further down these tracks.  Cosmopsychism is no friend of the Big Bang.  

Chicken little....... here we come..... better don our hard hats...... construction zone ahead.  

Yes, Eric, it’s time to start dusting off those fairytales.  

The Princess is playing hard to get..... but there are not that many fish in sea.  

In the meantime, foot defends donny.......

Yes, the Iraqi parliament was about to vote us off the island, anyway, so might as well settle scores with Suleimani, on the way out.  

And the Kurds will welcome us back once we have closed the door on the Shiites.  

I have no ill will towards the Shiites...... many are fellow traveling eschatologists.   They are way ahead of the eschatology game, to my understanding.  They are storming the gates of Heaven.  I can only sympathize.  Their time is fast approaching.

Me......? My down vest is being held hostage, over at the palace.

Let’s face it, sports fans, we have all the makings of a perfect storm.



(cont........)

Dan, been fun my man.

I have some personal projects to work on and I think you and I have spent enough time together for now.

No more writing by me.

You are a friend and I enjoyed whatever this was

You got my number, but there is no need to ever call.

I don’t really have anything to say or do.

I’m not going to speak about the seen or unseen ever again on the interwebs.

I’m retiring.

I don’t really care at all about Disclosure.

I don’t care at all about isms or ists or Apocalypse or Trump or lights in the sky.

Pretty boring, huh?

Boring is fine.

I was just joking around being a discordan goat in case anyone ever wondered.

I have arrived, this is my stop...

A glitch in the vectors?

Best wishes on your retirement, Eric.  

Cosmopsychism looks like it might be a tough nut to crack.  I’d want to get out of Dodge, too.

Had I been quite clever, I might have invented the term ‘cosmopsychism’...... as the counterpart or counterweight to panpsychism.  

I’m presently reviewing this article....... https://content.sciendo.com/configurable/contentpage/journals$002fslgr$002f41$002f1$002farticle-p9.xml .... Against Smallism And Localism.   (Note bené that this smallism has to do with reductionism, and not with the small world.)

The historical approach of this article brings to mind again how family history was entangled with the history of academic behaviorism, via the Skinner family, which has been blogged in the past.  


12:45.........

Another person to look at is Michael Egnor........

Michael is being tarred academically because of his association with the Discovery Institute.  That is a fate that Philip has managed to avoid, so far.  

What are Darwin’s police going to do with cosmopsychism?  

Roger Penrose, in Gary’s link, below, is talking all around cosmopsychism, but he refuses to actually name it.  He won’t even name panpsychism.  What he has admitted more recently is that the universe has a purpose.  Roger is no fan of the multiverse.  

Roger is a great defender of the non-computational aspect of mind.  The obvious implication is that this core aspect of personhood could be seen as something teleological.  There is a small step from teleology and panpsychism to supposing that the Telos will have to be given more credence than the Big Bang for the existence of our phenomenological world.  

I’m listening to Michael talk about Philip’s work...... https://evolutionnews.org/2018/04/egnor-two-weaknesses-of-agentive-cosmopsychism/

I recommend Michael’s talk.  His main criticism of Philip is that the alleged cosmic mind must be external to the ‘physical’ world, which is incompatible with any sort of panpsychism...... macro or micro.  

The BPWH plays both sides of that street, which is also true of panentheism...... albeit with a slightly different street in mind.  

Cosmopsychism does not require portals and the paranormal.  The BPWH does.  

I’m sure there will be more to say next morning........


In order to get my vest back, I have to figure out where John Sillasen is currently.  He phoned me with a riddle that is supposed to be a clue as to his location....... thanks John, but now I’ve forgotten the riddle..... some about ice, water and maybe the Sun.....?  

Has anyone else seen any glitches, lately?

I’ve seen one...... donald trump.

......

The question whether cognition ever extends beyond the head is widely considered to be an empirical issue. And yet, all the evidence amassed in recent years has not sufficed to settle the debate. In this paper we suggest that this is because the debate is not really an empirical one, but rather a matter of definition. Traditional cognitive science can be identified as wedded to the ideals of “smallism” and “localism”. We criticize these ideals and articulate a case in favor of extended cognition by highlighting the historical pedigree and conceptual adequacy of related empirical and theoretical work.


The Large, the Small and the Human Mind (Roger Penrose)

Smelly,

Not sure if you are still around but if this is indeed your farewell, I wish you the very best of everything.

Thanks for all the support, pointers, the chats and the fun.

This is indeed a wonderful little or perhaps 'small place'

If you every feel like a chat, drop me a line or you can get my number from Dan.

Also, if you ever venture across to the Emerald Isle, please do let me know.

Otherwise, enjoy life

Maybe I'll see you on the other side

I see her everywhere I look but couldn’t point her out.

She whispers secrets in my ear and begs me not to tell.

The chicken looks for little fishies deep inside the well.

The only fishies he will find are ones without a tail.

Another riddle for the chicken?

A well might have been a good guess for John’s riddle.  

So maybe, now, we’re undersea..... in submarine....... or someone’s fish tank..... like the Red Lobster.  

Too bad there’s no fish tank at the Pizza Hut.  

With cosmopsychism, we might be on track for an academic MoAPS.  

Give the eggheads a chance to redeem themselves....... maybe..... spare the chicken.  


12:10........  

I’m not sure whether anything short of an active portal would turn us around in any timely fashion.  

We are addicted to scientific materialism.  This was part of the cosmic plan.  A great deal of clever thinking has gone into our technological revolution...... continuously motivated by near term material rewards.  

Breaking out of that material cycle is going to take something more than philosophical speculation.  

There have been decades and generations to gradually face up to what will come after scientific materialism.  

If my down vest is being held hostage to the MoAPS...... I’m not sure if that is good or bad news.  

At least there are two more witnesses to the endgame.

John is a chicken hawk, but Ack not so much.

Certainly, the growing interest in cosmopsychism is not going to hurt the chicken.



(cont.......)

I am the only active portal.

Are we speaking of Pepe?

But, certainly, fertility is the primordial channel.

Sorry, was possessed by Kek for a minute there.

phew!

Close call.

The Gods don't want to die.

The Dude Abides.

Perhaps you were Charon for melania...... katabasis/anabasis..... or such..... can the vest serve as the golden bough?

dan wrote:Perhaps you were Charon for melania...... katabasis/anabasis..... or such..... can the vest serve as the golden bough?  

I don't understand, I don't know anything about it.

Sorry, one sec, let me just kick myself for that Kek move.

Joshu asked Nansen, "I won't ask about ignorance; but enlightenment-what is it like?"
Putting his hands to the ground, Nansen got down on all fours.
Joshu immediately kicked him down. Then he returned to his
room, crying: "What a pity! What a pity!"
Nansen, hearing of this, sent a man to ask Joshu, "What is it that
you are so sorry about?"
Joshu said, "I am sorry that I did not add two more kicks."

Zen is spiritual ophthalmology.

Nobody knows what zen is.

I feel zen may be closer to my heart than personalism.

Just my personal opinion.


No distractions, no distinctions, no shortcuts.

Straight on.

Direct perception of absolute truth is seeing the mind clearly.

The absolute truth can't be captured in language, though language is a part of it.

Poets say what can't be said.

That's speaking from the heart.

We are all poets in our own ways.

Diversity is beauty.

Wu wei.

Ack,

It is true that many see zen as an escape from the crush of persons in our daily lives.  



This afternoon I had a discussion with a long time correspondent about this article..... https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/23/us/portland-maine-african-migrants.html . This person is a Maine resident.

At lunch, I had a discussion with Throop about this article...... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/opinion/sunday/deaths-despair-poverty.html

I’m currently reading this article...... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/opinion/meghan-markle-prince-harry.html

The afternoon discussion ultimately focused on the breakdown of the so-called ‘Protestant work ethic’.  

The phrase first appeared in the ‘Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism’ by Max Weber (1904).....

Weber asserted that Protestant ethics and values along with the Calvinist doctrine of asceticism and predestination gave birth to capitalism.

Needless to say, such a broadly painted picture has been widely debated.  

In my time, I’ve witnessed the height of post war capitalism, the rebellion of the flower children and the pushback from the right.  

Now we are seeing an epidemic of depression among an apparently alienated youth..... as paths for upward mobility decline, and, particularly, rural communities stagnate.



(cont........)

dan wrote:Ack,

It is true that many see zen as an escape from the crush of persons in our daily lives.  

I don’t know any zen masters who would limit zen to any such idea or notion.

Ack,

Ok, it is an attempt to achieve inner serenity in a frenetic world.


9:15.........

In a rapidly changing world, we must seek strength and stability from the inside.  

Many or most do not find the endemic instability to be ‘fun’.



(cont........)

It’s just direct pointing to the human mind and seeing into ones own nature and becoming what you are.

I don’t know what it is.

Neither do you.

Neither does anybody.



Are we having fun yet?

....

Nature is constant change.

The only way to make sense of a rapidly changing world is to jump into it and flow with it.

We are the flowing change.

93

CS,

Smelly isn’t posting here for the time being.

Smelly asked me to share this chat room we have going on over in slack just in case you feel to join our campfire chats over there too.

We don’t tend to say a whole lot anymore these days in the other chat, but the door is always open.

https://join.slack.com/t/monos-pros-monon/shared_invite/enQtNTA1MTQxMjUxMzY0LTE1NTUzMjRjYzQxOTU5MmIwZjZhYjE2NTEyMmQ2OGM5MTRkY2E3ZGRmZjAxNzkwNzVlODFkNjIyNWUyM2Q5ZjA

Many, especially on the right, see any social change as a breakdown of a traditional culture.  

If these changes are accompanied a changing demography, it’s very likely that both changes will be viewed negatively by the traditionalist.  

I view things from the perspective of Owen Barfield...... we are undergoing a transition from a materially oriented culture toward our ‘final participation’.  

I see this transition as the inevitable final phase of the best possible world (BPW)...... this phase could also be called the eschatological phase.  

On the other side of our middle/material phase was our ‘original participation’ or mythic phase.



(cont........)

Best possible mystery ...

America’s former Chief of Naval Operations stated on Thursday that the unidentified flying objects that appeared to have outperformed Navy fighter pilots on videos recorded in 2004 and 2015 remain a mystery.

https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20200109/ex-navy-admiral-says-ufo-analyses-lsquoinconclusiversquo

Gary,

foot continues to maintain that the two publicized incidents were largely and deliberately staged so as to maintain a cover for actual, more problematic incidents.  The more problematic incidents are being kept out of the media..... thank you very much.  

A smokescreen, yes, but where there’s smoke, there is also fire.  

The ultimate fire, the real shocker....... are you ready for it...... is that our world is no accident.  

Yes..... a terrible shock to every self-respecting, modern minded person.  

The fact that the gal who cleans the bathroom at the airport is God...... well, some folks might find that also a bit unsettling to their worldview.  

The j guy may not have cleaned the toilets, but he did do the laundry.  It’s amazing how many folks did not get the message...... the first time.  

And what does all this have to do with cosmopsychism........ just about everything.    

Cosmopsychism is a window into the academic mind, but more like a foot in the door.  

Is that foot (in the door) likely to come in handy.........?  I’d bet my bippy.  

The other shocker is that this is the best possible Disclosure.  

And, yes, the fate of the universe will depend on whether I can retrieve my down vest within the allotted 24 hours.  


12:50........

Cosmopsychists and I have one thing in common, none of us believe in atoms.   And another thing...... none of us believe in God.  

Well, I do believe in the washerwoman.  I’m not sure what they believe.  I doubt that they are, either.  

Is a cosmopsychist necessarily a personalist?  I’m guessing that it’s gonna be real hard to see daylight between the two.  

Don’t the fantastic fungi have a foot in the door of cosmopsychism?  

They do....... mainly in the form of psilocybin..... bless their little hearts.  

Is the portobello a portal?  One might say that.  

Yesterday, my interlocutor said it was my final phone call..... operation chicken little was being shut down.  Hmmm....... bawk, bawk.  

Cosmopsychism came along just in the nick of time.  

Cosmopsychists, like pantheists, say that what we see is what we get.  

Why would they say a thing like that?  

Pantheists say that God = world.  Ok.  


2:30.........

I’m reading the SEP article on pantheism.  Bill Mander is totally removing the barriers between theism and pantheism.  

I have to feel sorry for the pantheists...... the jesus freaks are moving right into their neighborhood........ thank you very much for leaving all the doors unlocked.  

I should have been able articulate this, years ago...... from the SEP.....

Traditional theism asserts the omnipresence of God and, while it strongly wishes to maintain that this is not equivalent to pantheism, the difference between saying that God is present everywhere in everything and saying that God is everything is far from easy to explain. If omnipresence means, not simply that God is cognisant of or active in all places, but literally that he exists everywhere, then it is hard to see how any finite being can be said to have existence external to God. Indeed, for Isaac Newton and Samuel Clarke divine omnipresence was one and the same thing as space, which they understood as ‘the sensorium of God.’

So, God is omnipresent, except in Hell, where Satan is omnipresent.  

Is it possible for an omnipresent God to be a dualist?  How can a monist be a creator?  

A person can cut off their hand...... why not God?  

I guess we’re the phantom limbs of God.  

If God cuts off Satan, then Satan could conspire against God.... could blindside God.  That’s why he was disowned, in the first place.  Yes, God, here’s a little tip from a little chicken....... hold your friends close, and your enemies closer.  

If Eternity is real, none of us can do anything, anyway....... but we sure can pretend.  


4:10.........

The traditional theistic position that God’s creation of the universe is continuous can easily be developed in pantheistic directions. The view that the world could not exist—even for a second—without God, makes it wholly dependent on God and, hence, not really an autonomous entity.

None of this should be rocket science.  


5:40.........

The common supposition is that pantheism argues against anthropomorphism, personalism and transcendentalism.  A closer examination shows a greater degree of complexity and diversity of views that easily include all of the above.  

Folks can run from the BPW, they just can’t hide from it.  

From the SEP....... Leibniz monadology was mainly intended as a refutation of Spinoza’s monism.  I have to side with Spinoza on this point.  

Occasionalism argues that all agency derives only from one place.  

Now this....... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/opinion/sunday/christianity-religion-hell-bible.html

And then this........ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/us/politics/pete-buttigieg-religion-2020.html Why Pete Buttigieg Has Made Religion Central to His Campaign

It would be a glitch to realize suddenly and finally that all roads are leading to Rome....... that we are surrounded by Disclosure.  


9:10........

Patrick Harpur, in Soul, barely mentions Barfield, but, clearly he is greatly in his debt as recounts the first two phases of human history.



(cont........)

Psychedelics are a window to the ordinary wow.

Nature has grown some things to allow us to peek at ourselves through the window more honestly and clearly.

Most seem to have painted a sky on the window.

It looks like the real sky but it's just a painting.

You have to clean off the painted sky to see the sky clearly.

dan wrote:
Yesterday, my interlocutor said it was my final phone call..... operation chicken little was being shut down.  Hmmm....... bawk, bawk.  

I can't say I have never told Dan it was my last text or call before.