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Initiate

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Posted 01/30/03 - 04:56 PM:	#1
I am the founder of Philosophy club at my school. It is an informal meeting of seekers who sit around discussing various topics. I have been preparing for my next meeting this coming monday, by gathering different information. My questions are What is the point of technology and advancement? What is the point of wealth? What is love? and What is our future? any thoughts would be a ppreciated to help me initiate conversation.

dimensions
Professor

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Posted 01/30/03 - 05:24 PM:	#2
Simple just ask the questions, that should get them started. If you asking a question doen't get them to at least think about what an answer could be. These questions are farily good but i would try to link them. For example what is weath and how does it tie into love? or What is the point of advancement and where is this point leading us to in the future?
I'll take a shack on a rock over a castle in the sand.

i know
Professor

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Posted 01/31/03 - 07:00 AM:	#3
give them a few answers for each question and have them give their positions and why.

BlackMoore
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Posted 01/31/03 - 07:09 AM:	#4
Originally posted by from the Q What is the point of technology and advancement? What is the point of wealth? What is love? and What is our future? any thoughts would be a ppreciated to help me initiate conversation. I'll give my 2 cents worth on technology and advancement. 1) It is statistically very likely that our planet will encounter a global killing impact of some kind in the future. Currently the only probable way to prevent termination of species on the planet is through the use of technology to either prevent the impact or to spread our genetics across space (colonization). So, without technology, everything that we have learned, have become, will likely end. In this respect technology may be the savior of the species - even given its other perceived "evils." 2) I suspect we may be on the cusp of an evolutionary paradigm shift. We may be approaching the time in history when the next most advanced "being - entity - thing" on the planet is not carbon based but made of metal and driven by electricity and light. Yes, I mean robots, androids, AI, whatever term you wish to use. Though it is in our nature to feel that we are superior and that we will continue indefinitely so, nature itself argues the contrary. An advanced AI robot - such as Data from Star Trek - has many advantages over us. It can handle greater extremes of environment, it can think much faster than us, learn much faster, transport knowledge between "individuals" nearly instantly, does not suffer from the weak state of "childhood," can back itself up making it nearly indestructible, have a nearly infinite life span, repair itself endlessly given supplies, transfer all of its knowledge and experience to others in a very small amount of time, etc. I can go on and on. The only thing we have over such an entity is our spirit/soul (assuming we have such a thing). Some would argue our emotions, but I still content that emotions may just be a very complex manifestation of advanced thought. 3) The advancement of technology is the natural result of accumulation of knowledge, as is advancement of science, philosophy, etc. Wealth Wealth represents work or effort. Accumulating wealth is like accumulating a work potential or effort potential. I can use my wealth to create a home for myself instantly rather than spending many months doing so myself. I can use wealth to harvest my food and package it for easy storage and consumption rather than the effort it would take to raise a garden and can the food myself. But wealth goes beyond this. Since wealth is the quantification of work or effort and such comes from knowledge and skill, wealth can represent knowledge and skill as a result. For example, when I buy a high quality product from Company A, rather than a low quality one from company B, I am encouraging the survival of company A over B. I am rewarding those with greater knowledge and skill. Wealth is thus a tangible means of natural selection among business and workers. Love is an emotion. Emotions are very challenging to discuss, but I contend that they are simply a complex manifestation of many thoughts which trigger both a mental state as well as a physical state (opening adrenal glands, increasing heart rate, etc.). Our future is that which lies before us in time. You can extrapolate it with lesser and lesser degree of accuracy as you move outward from the now. An interesting question with many potential answers is, "Why is this so?"

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