Re: Another writeup for PCP
John J. Kineman (jjk@NGDC.NOAA.GOV)
Mon, 31 Aug 1998 17:03:14 -0600
Regarding Cliff's comments about immortality, I suggest an alternative to
the "survival = ultimate good" scenario. As we become less concerned with
survival in a particular form -- which is the concern of natural selection
-- we may loose our conern with physical survival altogether. Whereas we
now value physical closeness and security as social and aware forms, we may
begin to value psychological closeness more as we transcend form. This may
already be evident in cyberspace. We may also discover certain kinds of
psychological immortality - the propagation of our thoughts & panache, or
the thought that we are a part of a collective mind that cannot be
destroyed. Survival may become irrelevant. "Good" might then become equated
more with psychological, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual unification
as we transcend the physical forms that currently reinforce a fearful and
separated state. Those whom our culture associates with the greatest good
historically were also those who transcended thinking in terms of personal
survival, and thought instead of a greater unity. Great "survivors" in
history are sometimes considered heros (and villians), but not necessarily
the highest ideal of "good."
Just wanted to mention a more optimistic alternative here.
At 12:25 PM 8/24/98 -0600, you wrote:
>So check out:
>
> http://albertareport.com/25arcopy/25a19cpy/2519ar02.htm
>
>Note he didn't even mention the PCP URL! I urged him to include
>relavent URLs for those folks he mentioned, or at least a sidebar. No
>deal.
>
>Our friend Alex Chislenko is also mentioned here. . .
>
>O--------------------------------------------------------------------------
-->
>| Cliff Joslyn, Member of the Technical Staff (Cybernetician at Large)
>| Computer Research Group (CIC-3), Los Alamos National Laboratory
>| Mail Stop B265, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 USA
>| joslyn@lanl.gov www.c3.lanl.gov/~joslyn (505) 667-9096
>V All the world is biscuit-shaped. . .
>
>
-----------------------------------------------
John J. Kineman, Physical Scientist/Ecologist
National Geophysical Data Center
325 Broadway E/GC1 (3100 Marine St. Rm: A-152)
Boulder, Colorado 80303 USA
(303) 497-6900 (phone)
(303) 497-6513 (fax)
jjk@ngdc.noaa.gov (email)