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Psychological impact of knowledge of our own mortality?


Waldo

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I wonder how many people can name who was prime minister in the first world war (- any pre war British prime minister in fact,) or the scientific achievements of Gallileo, or who Yuri Gaggarin or Helen Sharman was?

 

I had to smile at salsafan's assertion that older people could teach the younger ones something. Nice as that would be, in my opinion the young regard old people as a different species, (except perhaps their Gran.) Old people are generally not attractive, especially when their health declines, in fact young people seem quite afraid of them - perhaps because, in them, they can see their own future demise.

 

You don't half like to make some sweeping generalisations

 

---------- Post added 26-02-2014 at 13:40 ----------

 

A form created by electrical energy.

 

Okay, that's what you say the form is created by, but you still haven't said what the actual form of consciousness (in your opinion) is.

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Hmm come to think about it most of my thoughts are just meaningless playbacks of old experiences :) I suppose it's really difficult to be in conscious control of thought.

 

To the ego, the present moment hardly exists. Only past and future are considered important. This total reversal of the truth accounts for the fact that in the ego mode the mind is so dysfunctional. It is always concerned with keeping the past alive, because without it - who are you?

 

By Eckhart Tolle

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Okay, that's what you say the form is created by, but you still haven't said what the actual form of consciousness (in your opinion) is.

 

You originally asked;

 

"Like Johncocker said, what would that form be?"

 

 

As there is no present scientific definition of consciousness it is impossible as yet to define it, that's why I have not stated what it is. All that can be said is that consciousness is created by the brain and is formed by electrical energy.

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Subject line says it all again...

 

Also, of some interest, what (psychological) value is to be had from the knowledge of our ineviatable demise? Every cloud has a silver lining and all that...

 

Didn't the Frebcihies used to keep skulls on their desks to remind themselves of their own mortality?

 

---------- Post added 25-02-2014 at 01:26 ----------

 

I mean Frenchies! As in French people. Damn this typing on an iPad malarkey...

 

Over the past 5 years there's been a couple of people that I used to know quite well that have died; I say used to know because I lost touch with them years ago but finding out through Facebook that they died was still a shock and it really does make you think about your own mortality.

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Here's an interesting short video about consciousness, where the poster poses the question.

 

Hemispherectomy is a procedure in which half of a persons brain is removed, it's usually only done on very young patients, he says their brains are usually 'plastic' enough for the remaining half to take on the functions of the part that was removed. It's usually done because the child is having seizures. The question he asks is if you can live with only half a brain, what if he was to take two empty skulls & insert one half in one body & the other one in another body which person would be you? fascinating

 

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You originally asked;

 

"Like Johncocker said, what would that form be?"

 

 

As there is no present scientific definition of consciousness it is impossible as yet to define it, that's why I have not stated what it is. All that can be said is that consciousness is created by the brain and is formed by electrical energy.

 

Then why did you claim it has a form, if you can't define it?

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