Reframing Moloch

 Let us consider the notion of Moloch in terms of the view that "All things that have a beginning have an ending". Some patterns to note:

• When the situation is not the way we would like / want / expect, we seem to need to invent a causal agent. We have invented the devil, dark matter, Moloch, the other, the system, the incentive, ....
• The connotation of this agent can be positive or negative (guardian angel vs the devil). That connotation affects our neurology. That affect colors our reasoning. Our reasoning is always (?) motivated reasoning. And that motivated reasoning is affected by our affects. (Too much affect?)
• Consciousness transformations can lead to very different perspectives on this ( and other ) issues and lead to statements like: Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. or the four noble truths, the eight fold path, the exhortation to love, to be at peace, The Power of Now, ....
• Perspectival changes include seeing ourselves as part of the meta process of how we parse and interpret reality and try to make sense of it. Often leaving out that any perspective leaves out of it the "rest of infinity". A depth of caring and love affects us as we try to make sense of the world in that "miasma" of simulated pain
• ????????????????????

Below is a conversation I had with an ai (google bard) about this.

Sense making and literacy

 Another way to think about the notion of sense making is thinking of it as "literacy" in reality. So a person who can "read" is not necessarily good at "reading" and understanding reality. The degree of understanding of reality is a measure of a person's level of literacy. Think of literacy in this metaphor as a spectrum. It is not a binary condition of being literate or not. Rather it is more a measure of the degree of one's being "one with the way" where the way is reality. Or being congruent with truth where truth is a dynamically evolving understanding of reality. Given this view of literacy, it seems like the larger percentage of humanity is lower on the spectrum of literacy than the common view of literacy.

Moral Foundations and Human Development

 I have done several posts on Haidt's Moral Foundations model. Another thought occurred to me about looking at the underlying structure and integrating it with a human development model. One of the things that happens in human development is the increase in the capability of level of abstraction. Given that, one can then question the moral foundations criteria:

Criteria	Context	Tangible	Abstraction level 1	Abstraction level 2
Care/harm	for / to	person	group	principle
Fairness/cheating	for / of	person	group	principle
Loyalty/betrayal	to / of	person	group	principle
Authority/subversion	of / of	person	group	principle
Sanctity/degradation	of / of	place / person	places / group	principle
Liberty/oppression	of / of	person	group	principle

Depending on the stage of development of a person, one can see the moral criteria being applied to different "objects". Objects can be tangible or intangible.

Telos, purpose, purposes, purpi ?

 What is the purpose of existence / reality ?  One needs to pick a starting point for this dialogue. Let us start with the Laws of Form by Spencer-Brown. Before any distinction is made, nothing can be said. What distinctions can be made about why after the unnameability paradox.

• Experience all that is possible to experience. Evidence
• Forms innumerable
• Parallel universes to infinity
• All possible simulations / computations
• What else does infinity do?
• "Come to me" - all possible forms experiencing the undistinguished in all possible ways. 
• "Know me" - variation of "Come to me" - trying to understand, comprehend, grok that which can not be understood. But getting ever closer, but can never reach - no end.

This is where words all fail to reach.

Artificial Intelligence - a different perspective

 The are various active conversations / perspectives on the current AI capabilities and directions. What I have not seen much / any conversation / discussion on is how AI sheds a light on us (human species). AI is providing a powerful feedback loop / mirror to us of the issues with us as well as the our possibilities.

Recasting Virtues to Systemic Structure Rationale

I asked Chatgpt 4 to "please list all the virtues." This post is an attempt to cast each of these virtues into system structure based rationale as to why they are useful, valuable, necessary, ...?

The gpt response is in bold. My comments on that are in normal font.

Patterns in History with References

 

Tell me what are the major patterns in human history. Also, tell me what references you are using to determine these patterns.

There are several major patterns in human history that scholars have identified. These patterns often emerge from the study of social, economic, political, and technological factors over time. Some of the key patterns include:

1. Agricultural Revolution: The shift from hunter-gatherer societies to settled agricultural communities (around 10,000 BCE) was a turning point in human history. This led to the growth of permanent settlements, social stratification, and the development of early civilizations.

2. Rise and Fall of Empires: Throughout history, empires have risen to power, dominated regions, and eventually declined or collapsed. Examples include the Roman Empire, the Mongol Empire, and the British Empire. These cycles can be attributed to various factors such as military conquest, internal strife, or economic decline.

3. Technological Revolutions: Innovations in technology have spurred major changes in human history. Key examples include the invention of the wheel, the development of writing, the printing press, the Industrial Revolution, and the Digital Revolution. These advances have shaped the way societies function, allowing for increased productivity, communication, and interconnectedness.

4. Globalization and Trade: Human history has seen an increasing trend of interconnectedness, through trade networks and cultural exchange. From ancient trade routes like the Silk Road to modern global trade networks, this pattern has played a crucial role in shaping the world economy and cultural diffusion.

5. Conflict and War: Throughout history, conflict and war have been persistent patterns, driven by competition for resources, power, territory, or ideological differences. Major conflicts like the World Wars, the Cold War, and ongoing regional conflicts reflect this pattern.

6. Social and Cultural Change: Human societies have undergone significant social and cultural changes over time, including the rise and fall of religions, artistic movements, and philosophies. These changes have shaped the course of human history, often in response to shifting political and economic contexts.

For determining these patterns, I draw from a vast array of historical sources, including but not limited to:

1. Books on world history, such as "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond, "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari, and "A World History" by William H. McNeill.
2. Academic research articles and historical journals that focus on specific periods, regions, or themes in human history.
3. Publicly available primary sources, such as historical texts, documents, and artifacts that provide direct evidence of past events and trends.
4. Online databases, like JSTOR and Project MUSE, which aggregate scholarly research in the fields of history, anthropology, and archaeology.

Please note that my knowledge is based on the information available up until September 2021, and there may be newer research and developments that I am not aware of.

Human Chemistry

 Each of us has traits / features / behaviors as individuals. However, those characteristics change when we are members of a group of any size. One can liken this to hydrogen and oxygen combining. Each has different characteristics alone versus in combination.

Another chemical reaction is the binding of a human to a belief system. The strength of that binding determines the "chemical" properties of the combination as different from the individual properties. One can see how often "believers" are actually behaving in contradiction to their faith.

The Sacred

A friend asked me what I consider to be sacred. My initial response was that I don't know what is not sacred. On deeper reflection, it occurred to me that words are pointers to "something". They are not the "thing" itself. With that in mind, it seems to me that the pointer is to a state of consciousness / awareness / being. This state can be arrived at in "any" context - in nature, in place of worship, looking at the stars, ... There can be a binding in peoples' minds limiting the sacred to only certain contexts. So, each one us can interpret the word in so many different ways. Perhaps it is useful to keep this in mind and to tread lightly around each others' binding context to their sacred. 

Yin Yang and Yong

 

Yin and Yang can be interpreted as an unfolding at different levels. The white within the black ( and vice versa ) creates a dynamic / tension within a "smaller" context. In a larger context, the two larger black / white domains are in tension with each other. And the white within the black may yearn for the larger white and vice versa. These tensions can be seen as the unfolding of evolution, human history. At times, as at present, it seems like we are in an era of polarization where there is great tension and darkness as things seem to be heading into chaos and more. However, what gets left out is that in addition to the dynamics of yin and yang, there is yong. Yong is the larger context in which yin yang play out. The euphoria or depression that can arise out of the yin yang dynamic is simply an infinitesimal play in the infinity of the yong.