6. Core reasoning

This is Ms. Havisham. Good Monday morning. I begin with a consciousness definition because there wouldn't be a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning without it. 

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CONSCIOUSNESS

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Consciousness, at its simplest, is "sentience or awareness of internal or external existence."^[1] Despite centuries of analyses, definitions, explanations, and debates by philosophers and scientists, consciousness remains puzzling and controversial,^[2] being "at once the most familiar and most mysterious aspect of our lives."^[3] Perhaps the only widely agreed notion about the topic is the intuition that it exists.^[4] Opinions differ about what exactly needs to be studied and explained as consciousness. Sometimes, it is synonymous with 'the mind' and is an aspect of it. In the past, it was one's "inner life," the world of introspection, of private thought, imagination, and volition.^[5] Today, it often includes some kind of experience, cognition, feeling, or perception. It may be 'awareness,' or 'awareness of awareness,' or self-awareness.^[6] There might be different levels or orders of consciousness,^[7] or different kinds of consciousness, or just one kind with different features.^[8] Other questions include whether only humans are conscious or all animals or even the whole universe. The disparate range of research, notions, and speculations raises doubts about whether the right questions are being asked.^[9]

Examples of the range of descriptions, definitions, or explanations are simple wakefulness, one's sense of selfhood or soul explored by "looking within"; being a metaphorical "stream" of contents, or being a mental state, mental event, or mental process of the brain; having phanera or qualia and subjectivity; being the 'something that it is like' to 'have' or 'be' it; being the "inner theatre" or the executive control system of the mind.^[10]

DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS

The dictionary meanings of the word consciousness extend through several centuries and several associated related meanings. These have ranged from formal definitions to definitions attempting to capture the less easily captured and more debated meanings and word usage.

One formal definition indicating the range of these related meanings is given in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, stating that consciousness is:

1.     

o   awareness or perception of an inward psychological or spiritual fact: intuitively perceived knowledge of something in one's inner self

o   inward awareness of an external object, state, or fact

o   concerned awareness: INTEREST, CONCERN—often used with an attributive noun.

2.   the state or activity characterized by sensation, emotion, volition, or thought – mind in the broadest possible sense: something in nature distinguished from the physical.

3.   the totality in the psychology of sensations, perceptions, ideas, attitudes, and feelings of which an individual or a group is aware at any given time or within a particular time span—compare STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS."

The Cambridge Dictionary defines consciousness as "the state of understanding and realizing something."^[27] The Oxford Living Dictionary defines consciousness as "The state of being aware of and responsive to one's surroundings.", "A person's awareness or perception of something." And "The fact of awareness by the mind of itself and the world."^[28]

Most definitions include awareness, but some include a more general state of being.

PHILOSOPHY OF MIND

The philosophy of mind has given rise to many stances regarding consciousness. The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy in 1998 defines consciousness as follows:

Consciousness—Philosophers have used the term 'consciousness' for four main topics: knowledge in general, intentionality, introspection (and the knowledge it specifically generates), and phenomenal experience… Something within one's mind is 'introspectively conscious' just in case one introspects it (or is poised to do so). Introspection is often thought to deliver one's primary knowledge of one's mental life. An experience or other mental entity is 'phenomenally conscious' just in case there is 'something it is like' for one to have it. The clearest examples are perceptual experiences, such as tastings and seeings: bodily-sensational experiences, such as those of pains, tickles, and itches; imaginative experiences, such as those of one's own actions or perceptions; and streams of thought, as in the experience of thinking 'in words' or 'in images.' Introspection and phenomenality seem independent or dissociable, although this is controversial.^[29]

In a more skeptical definition of consciousness, Stuart Sutherland has exemplified some of the difficulties in fully ascertaining all of its cognate meanings in his entry for the 1989 version of the Macmillan Dictionary of Psychology:

Consciousness—The having of perceptions, thoughts, and feelings; awareness. The term is impossible to define except in terms that are unintelligible without a grasp of what consciousness means. Many fall into the trap of equating consciousness with self-consciousness—to be conscious, it is only necessary to be aware of the external world. Consciousness is a fascinating but elusive phenomenon: it is impossible to specify what it is, what it does, or why it has evolved. Nothing worth reading has been written on it.^[30]

Most writers on the philosophy of consciousness have been concerned with defending a particular point of view and have organized their material accordingly. For surveys, the most common approach is to follow a historical path by associating stances with the most strongly associated philosophers, for example, Descartes, Locke, Kant, etc. An alternative is to organize philosophical stances according to basic issues.

Selected and edited from Wikipedia

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SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Self-consciousness is a heightened sense of self-awareness. It is a preoccupation with oneself, as opposed to the philosophical state of self-awareness, which is the awareness that one exists as an individual being. However, the two terms are commonly used interchangeably or synonymously.^[1] An unpleasant feeling of self-consciousness may occur when one realizes that one is being watched or observed, the feeling that "everyone is looking" at oneself. Some people are habitually more self-conscious than others. Unpleasant feelings of self-consciousness are sometimes associated with shyness or paranoia.

Selected and edited from Wikipedia

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Richard found through years of teaching young adults; attention is better paid when important elements are defined. People who find definitions boring are not ready to think and consider. Reading definitions not only sets a basic standard for knowledge; it sets a stronger standard for self-understanding. One of this blog's main goals is to show that while knowledge is certainly important and is logically stronger to adhere to than belief, wisdom comes from knowledge and understanding. It is generally better to understand something than to know it, and better still to know something than to believe it. That's a general rule for physical survival in this world. 

For example, if one is walking on the top of an eight-foot wall and another parallel wall is a short distance away, and one wants to cross to the other wall sheorhe might believe sheorhe could make the jump safely but would have to not only just the distance but also the height and the sturdiness of the wall. Knowledge -- distance, height, and sturdiness would be a selection of knowledge along with herorhis physical characteristics and athletic ability. Wisdom understands even more factors before deciding to jump or not to jump from one wall to the other at this particular time and circumstance.

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KNOWLEDGE

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Knowledge is a familiarity, awareness, or understanding of someone or something, such as facts (propositional knowledge), skills (procedural knowledge), or objects (acquaintance knowledge). By most accounts, knowledge can be acquired in many different ways and from many sources, including but not limited to perception, reason, memory, testimony, scientific inquiry, education, and practice. The philosophical study of knowledge is called epistemology.

The term "knowledge" can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject. It can be implicit (as with practical skill or expertise) or explicit (as with the theoretical understanding of a subject), formal or informal, systematic or particular.^[1] The philosopher Plato famously pointed out the need for a distinction between knowledge and true belief in the Theaetetus, leading many to attribute to him a definition of knowledge as "justified true belief."^[2][3] The difficulties with this definition raised by the Gettier problem have been the subject of extensive debate in epistemology for more than half a century.^[2]

 

THEORIES OF KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge is the primary subject of the field of epistemology, which studies what we know, how we come to know it, and what it means to know something.^[4]

The definition of knowledge is a matter of ongoing debate among epistemologists. The classical definition, described but not ultimately endorsed by Plato,^[5] specifies that a statement must meet three criteria to be considered knowledge: it must be justified, true, and believed. Epistemologists today generally agree that these conditions are not sufficient, as various Gettier cases are thought to demonstrate. Several alternative definitions have been proposed, including Robert Nozick's proposal that all instances of knowledge must 'track the truth' and Simon Blackburn's proposal that those who have a justified true belief 'through a defect, flaw, or failure' fail to have knowledge. Richard Kirkham suggests that our definition of knowledge requires that the evidence for the belief necessitates its truth.^[6]

 

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WISDOM

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight.^[1] Wisdom is associated with unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence, and non-attachment,^[2] and virtues such as ethics and benevolence.^[3][4]

Wisdom has been defined in many different ways,^[2][5][3] including several distinct approaches to assess the characteristics attributed to wisdom.^[6][7]

DEFINITIONS

The Oxford English Dictionary defines wisdom as "Capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct; soundness of judgement in the choice of means and ends; sometimes, less strictly, sound sense, esp. in practical affairs: opp. to folly;" also "Knowledge (esp. of a high or abstruse kind); enlightenment, learning, erudition."^[8] Charles Haddon Spurgeon defined wisdom as "the right use of knowledge." ^[9] Robert I. Sutton and Andrew Hargadon defined the "attitude of wisdom" as "acting with knowledge while doubting what one knows." In social and psychological sciences, several distinct approaches to wisdom exist,^[3] with major advances made in the last two decades concerning operationalization^[2] and measurement^[7] of wisdom as a psychological construct. Wisdom is the capacity to have foreknowledge of something, know the consequences (both positive and negative) of all the available course of actions, yield, or take the most advantage options either for present or future implication.

Selected and edited from Wikipedia

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This blog is for thinking about our nature and speculating, which we do. Mr. Orndorff was a teacher. Now he is rounded life to be the student he always was – a kind of sharable end-of-life self-teaching for those interested. 

2023. You, kind Reader, are always welcome to visit this blog, but it is not an obligation. It is my nature to share my thoughts. You have your own nature. 2024. 

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I waited for today to drop in your response, Grandma Earth. 

Grandma Earth, in her wisdom, thinks this is enough for any time on a Monday. 

Hope you Readers had a good Monday. – Ms. H.

 5a. Buffet and Milton; 5b. Grandma story

Good morning, Ms. H. here. As this is published Sunday morning, Mr. Orndorff is thinking metaphysics and another line from Jimmy Buffet's "Fruitcakes" lyrics. 

"Paradise, lost and found

Paradise, take a look around"

 

Only Orndorff thought – Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained; what great lines from John Milton as he was moving down to, "that's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning.' 

 

What were Milton's Paradise Lost lines? 

 

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Book One

The Argument

One who brings
A mind not to be chang'd by Place or Time.
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n. [ 255 ]
What matter where, if I be still the same,
And what I should be, all but less then he
Whom Thunder hath made greater? Here at least 
We shall be free; th' Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: [ 260 ]
Here we may reign secure, and in my choyce
To reign is worth ambition though in Hell:
Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav'n.

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What modern relevancy is read above? A simple rebellion against the wearing of a mask for the betterment of one's self and herorhis family, friend or neighbor is the mind in its own place attempting to make a hell for others, for what matter where, "I defiant against the common good; I will be still the same, at least in this country we may reign secure, and to reign is my choice against the common good, because here in this country I can be free." Milton, a human being, was the writer. The Satan in Paradis Lost is also a man defiant without showing compassion, empathy, or remorse. We can make a Hell of Heaven or create a better place, perhaps not Heaven as Milton's Angel suggest, but a better, more humane place on Earth for ourselves, our children, and our children's children. That's how I, Ms. Havisham, sees it. It is a thin line indeed, but it is in the will, first to be kinder to ourselves as well as kinder to our family, friends, and neighbors. Kindness and friendship are built-in. Trust, however, is not. Trust has to be earned. Anyone with a good solid friend knows this. It is no different in the world. – Ms. H.

Nature trusts roots. Homo sapiens apparently do not trust their roots, or they have forgotten what they are. Friendship and sharing are first. Homo sapiens can survive without sharing or trust, but by any good measure, the human spirit cannot. In Grandma's story, the reader can see this first hand. Dead or alive, some things do not change. Here is a second revised chapter. – Grandma E. 

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CHAPTER TWO

Grandma traces Eve's DNA through various shamans of old. Why shamans? The shaman or storyteller understood what I call trancephysics. Any reader who finds herorhimself immersed in a good book, film, or play discovers for herorhimself – engagement in an altered reality.

✶ ✶ ✶

This second story is told by a descendent of the old man mentioned in the first chapter, the shaman who told his audience they could be out in the stars and here on Earth at the same time. He traveled to the Place of the Dead too. Funny that the listener who asked the question would die first, but she did. The shaman lived another ten years after she died. The woman drowned in a then nameless river; she had been his granddaughter.

A direct female descendant of hers traveled from what is now northern Italy to Spain. This was about ten thousand years ago. Within the next thousand years of generations, she had found herself on the British Isles with people now called Basques. A few had settled on in lower Western Britain. As the families grew, some moved on to Ireland. Others to Scotland and Wales. More than five thousand years later, a shaman appeared who had some tall tales centered on Mother Earth, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, and human nature.

This particular shaman spent a lot of time walking the woods and daydreaming north of Salisbury Plain and southeast of Scotland. The shaman dreamed of a new story. He was five when he first had the dream, but it wasn't there when he awoke. The next night he dreamed it again and thought about it for the next fifteen years. The vision settled in on a rebellion in the Place of the Dead. This is what he told the tribe:

"The cold, icy fingers of the Dead want to feel their way back home, our Mother. The Dead did not have to go to the Stars in Heaven or even to the Moon. The Dead are among us because the Dead live within our ancestors and us."

This shaman relates this to the others and says, "If you cremate the Dead, their bones will be blackened like the night. They will not have to see their bodies rotting, and the animals won't dig them up. The quicker they will be a part of Mother again, and best of all, they will have no icy cold fingers reaching out to us the Living from beyond the grave."

He continues, "You can close a burial spot with a stone. Stones don't move so easily as the spirits do."

This shaman also became interested in crystals. He found more than one cave with crystal. He surmises crystal is the skull bone of Mother Earth. This unique crystal can produce a vibration I feel can in his fingertips. A small piece of crystal in my left hand creates empathy with whom or what I touch with my right hand. With the crystal in one hand, I can sense a movement within another stone held in his other hand. No one in the clan knew this wasn't possible, so it became real when others witnessed it and tried it for themselves.

The stones never move, but people claimed that you could sense the stone moving within itself if others carry a crystal within the left hand and another stone in the right. 

The shaman then suggests that human beings carry a spirit, as do unique crystals from the cave. This was the logic. Someone in the clan indicates that eggs are fragile stones, and eggs can appear dead on the outside but be living on the inside. Thus people can be living on the outside but feel dead on the inside. Crystals and eggs have something in common with human beings, and even human bones and stones have something in common, you see.

✶ ✶ ✶

Grandma smiles and winks. The crystal works its sympathetic magic on human beings. It worked for the shaman, so he told it as a true story. Stones are like bones. You line them up just right, and they lie. That's the truth of it.

Grandma glanced beyond the dark sky above. The white in her eyes could tell you her dark pupils were disappearing inside that earthy head of hers. I have a secret, says Grandma to the Reader; I am the Consciousness on which the shaman dance to understand their nature.

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Methinks that one of the differences between a living human consciousness and one that is physically dead is that, for once, nothing is fake. – Ms. H.

 

 4a. the thin line /4b. Grandma's rainbow

Good morning, Ms. Havisham here. It is Saturday morning and tomorrow is Sunday. I'm reminded of the spoken lyrics in Jimmy Buffett's song, "Fruitcakes" -- "there's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning." The reason I know this line so well is that it is embedded in Mr. Orndorff's heart, the heart that is connected with me, Ms. H., the personification of Mr. O's heartansoulanmind. 

Now, Mr. O. thinks so much of this line and its implications in how life is played out that he is sure that if his consciousness survives physical death, he will remember this line either forever or a very long time – whichever comes first. Orndorff is first and foremost a born agnostic, but one thing he does not doubt is G-D's existence. In fact, he would say, "I would doubt my own existence before I would doubt G-D's." You see, for Mr. Orndorff, "that's the thin line between Saturday night and Sunday morning." Therefore, it is set in his emotional heart. Do you have anything to add, Mr. Orndorff? – Ms. H.

2059. No. I am surprised how this writing is going tonight. We watched "The Crown" on Netflix, and we were shut down because too many people were watching it, I suppose. Anyway, Carol came to bed early, first to read; and I followed, trying to think what Ms. H. would write about for tomorrow. We have errands, so I wanted to get a head start. It is 2103 hours, and we are missing Rachel Maddow, but it is being copied for a later watching. As for the Buffett line, it is in my heart of hearts, so to speak. You've written about it, so I don't have the need to say anything else. It is a line that stretches from Here, where I am, to There where I hope to someplace be after my ashes are buried and some few scattered about in private sacred places. Well, I did have the need to say something. 2108.

It will be Saturday when you read this. Feel free to sign up on the blog if you like. I don't mind either way, but Orndorff doesn't like to 'talk' to himself. Just one or two kind Readers will be enough. From my perspective, the man is seventy-eight, but his mind has never grown up – misplaced teenage angst is what I call it on this unique occasion. In here, there is a slight tension between the heart and the mind, you see. Most every one of nearly every age can feel this now and then. Having feelings is human; it does not have to be rational. – Ms. H. 

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This is Grandma E. It is a Saturday morning, Saturn's Day to the Romans. The Greeks and Romans classified their days, and their gods and goddesses were poetically endowed to keep the people more closely aware and understanding of their deities. People generally don't like things they cannot understand and accept even fake understanding over the real thing. Why? Mostly for entertainment and drama. You can see evidence of this in my first story posting from a couple of days ago. You can't fault people for misunderstanding something when a better, more reasonable answer would more likely prevail. 

On another subject. I have an image, a description of my personification for this blog, if you don't mind, followed by an explanation. – Grandma E.

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HATTIE MCDANIEL

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hattie McDaniel (June 10, 1893 – October 26, 1952) was an American actress, singer-songwriter, and comedian. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as "Mammy” in Gone with the Wind (1939), becoming the first African American to win an Oscar.

In addition to acting in many films, McDaniel recorded 16 blues sides between 1926–1929 (10 were issued) and was a radio performer and television star; she was the first black woman to sing on the radio in the United States.^[3][4] She appeared in over 300 films, although she received screen credits for only 83.^[5]

Encountering racism and racial segregation throughout her career, McDaniel was unable to attend the premiere of Gone with the Wind in Atlanta because it was held at a whites-only theater, and at the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles, she sat at a segregated table at the side of the room; the Ambassador Hotel where the ceremony was held was for whites only but allowed McDaniel in as a favor. When she died in 1952, her final wish--to be buried in Hollywood Cemetery--was denied because the graveyard was restricted to whites only.

McDaniel has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood: one at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to radio; and one at 1719 Vine Street for acting in motion pictures. She was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1975, and in 2006 she became the first black Oscar winner honored with a U.S. postage stamp.^[6] In 2010, she was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.^[7]

Photo and article from Wikipedia

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This reminds people that my character as an Earth Mother representative has ties to Ms. Hattie McDaniel. To have black or brown skin is as natural as having the skin of a lighter color. The Earth has a rainbow of colors, which is shared with the likes of living Homo sapiens. Some treat me respectfully, and others do not, just as members of the species treat their own. By the way, so there is no misunderstanding, I am treating the memory of Hattie McDaniel respectfully. Treating the planet and people in a kind nature goes a long way to treat the species. It works out, you see because when people die and get buried, they are usually buried in me. – Grandma E.

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Grandma has a right to her viewpoint, just as you do. We are civil enough to allow different viewpoints between one another. That's the way it is in here. You have your own viewpoints. Share them with others or keep them private. – Ms. H.

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