In a message dated 2/5/2000 11:38:51 AM EST, matthew.gream@pobox.com writes:
<<This is sounding very STNG'y.
What are the basic rules ?
- - respect something for what it is and the way it is, and discard ideas of
superiority and non-superiority ? things are less capable and less aware and
less skilled or more capable and more aware and more skilled; or just
"different".>>
I would say that there is some truth to the above statement, but that as
the
maximum level of awareness something is capable of decreases, so does how
much
respect we have to have for its current state. To me, much more significant
than
what something is and the way it is is how it wants to be. Of course, this
is a
subjective quality, so difficult to ascertain. However, I believe it is
worth the trouble
to attempt to infer from something's behavior (especially in the form of
communication). Great Apes, in my opinion, are capable of having quite high
levels
of desire, and thus should be respected and given their rights. Chairs and
rocks
have no desires as far as I can ascertain, though both may receive some
protection if
a more complex system (like a human being) desires them to be that way.
<< - - do not disturb these things from what they are doing, even if they are
incorrectly disturbing other things, or possibly guide and educate them to
greater levels of awareness ? but even this suggests the primacy of "greater
levels of awareness" as a positive outcome from our perspective, not from
theirs ? perhaps, their perspective is to operate a destructive system, who
says that a productive one is more important ?>>
This touches on the question of creation versus improvement. Are you
really
helping a pre-existent entity or are you creating a new entity? It's a
difficult question
to answer. I will wimp out on answering that one for the moment, as I am
still trying
to understand it myself.
<< - - somehow provide enough communication to them so that when they become
aware enough to look out and modify themselves to undertake self change, or
whatever, then there are helping hands that will help them ?
It's a pity I don't drink, or I would need one now. No, I am not on mind
altering substances. Though I can relate some interesting stories of
spiritual journeys on early mornings in Paris ... very strange.
Help !
Matthew. >>
Okay, I will say this much. I would venture to guess that if a system
never has
desires about itself unless you significantly change its structure, then you
are
creating a new being, and thus the question should be asked, "Is this
non-sentient
object the best material to be building a sentient being out of?" However,
if the
system has desires about itself without significant alteration from you, then
the
question is, "How can I best help this sentient being?" It is really kind of
a small
difference if viewed from the perspective that you are trying to in future
ensure that all
sentient beings you have influenced benefit as much as possible from
interacting
with you.
Okay, I'm obviously not awake yet....that's enough babbling for now<G>.
Glen
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:03:29 MDT