People are just organic machines

[uri]

Despite the fact that Human beings are capable of being aware of certain aspects of their own nature, such as instincts and inclinations that result from nurture, the inability or difficulty in regard to behaving in a manner inconsistent with them makes Human beings merely organic machines that are aware of their own programming (while lower lifeforms are not aware of their programming but simply follow it without knowing that they're doing so).

In other words, though we can acknowledge our programming, we cannot or find it quite difficult deviating from it.

Do you guys agree or disagree?

[BackUpOrGetStng]

First, this has absolutely no relevance to this forum.

By most definitions, humans are machines, or at least our brains are. We're a bunch of parts that work together and perform calculations. Our brains are computers, executing the code in our genes.

Does that satisfy your pseudointellectual hunger for metaphysical discussion?

[Graham Berkeley]

Agreed. Very much so.

[VincenzoG91]

I think that people who lack empathy are more robotic than the rest of us.

[uri]

I think that people who lack empathy are more robotic than the rest of us.

I agree with you but unfortunately in the world we live in, that is most people and especially liberals because i realized that it is usually liberals who are the most greedy and lack compassion.

[VincenzoG91]

I agree with you but unfortunately in the world we live in, that is most people and especially liberals because i realized that it is usually liberals who are the most greedy and lack compassion.

What color is the sky in your world?

[uri]

What color is the sky in your world?

What's that supposed to mean?

[BackUpOrGetStng]

It means you're a ****ing idiot for generalizing and judging a whole group of people. Not to mention, liberals are the main proponents of charity and social work. You're ****ing idiot.

Let me guess. You're a 21 year old, college student?

[uri]

Let me guess. You're a 21 year old, college student?

No, not at all. I'm already 21 years old and not a college student. I don't have money for college. All my knowledge comes from books, Wikipedia and self-education.

[Graham Berkeley]

Empathy is an evolutionary mechanism for establishing groups. Especially if times are hard or resources scarce. Thats really all it is.

[uri]

It means you're a ****ing idiot for generalizing and judging a whole group of people. Not to mention, liberals are the main proponents of charity and social work. You're ****ing idiot.

But it's not enough to give to charity and social work. Liberals and especially neo-liberalists have a corporatist agenda of giving all the power to corrupt business enterprises and also to privatize everything.

Also liberals take other peoples rights away because they think they know better. That's why I am not a liberal. I'm more of a democratic socialist or libertarian socialist.

[uri]

By most definitions, humans are machines, or at least our brains are. We're a bunch of parts that work together and perform calculations. Our brains are computers, executing the code in our genes.

We are material beings composed of atoms and molecules, ordered by the largely chance processes of self-organization and evolution to become capable of the complex behavior associated with the notions of life and mind.

And because of what we are, which is a temporary blot of highly evolved organized matter, I just fail to see the evidence for a God. I think matter and matter alone is sufficient to explain everything discovered so far by the most powerful scientific instruments.

Hopefully advances in particle physics, particle astrophysics, quantum mechanics, nuclear physics, classical electromagnetics, quantum gravity and maybe even string theory will help us better understand how the universe really works at the most basic level.

Also hopefully advances in biology, biochemistry, molecular biology and neuroscience will help us understand how the human brain works so we could treat depression and help us understand why we find certain people irresistibly attractive.

We are a spark in a vast cosmic machine and sparks don't last forever. This means that we will very porbably never be here again.

http://www.colorado.edu/philosophy/vstenger/Quantum/01CosmicMind.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmicism

http://www.summeroflovecraft.com/hplc.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110810185941AAm74Oa

http://nothing-is-irreversible.com/2012/01/25/the-relevance-of-myth/

[Maple1714]

Again, this topic does not have any relevance in this forum.

Sure, you are correct in your definitions that you read from somewhere, which were written by a human (or we think?). Try and forget everything you have ever read. Try and quiet everything around you and think about what you feel. Do you sometimes feel the negative and positive pulls? All life is composed of energy...we are just "organized matter", as you wrote, and we do have strong minds that allow us to see our "programming". But, we (humans) are not JUST a sophisticated bag of molecules that can use our brain activity to our advantage. Molecules are comprised of both positive and negatively charged atoms...that tells us in the most basic way that there are 2 sides to everything...the opposite of something always exists...if it didn't there would be nothing. I am saying you should look at the other side of everything...even your statements above. Yes, that leaves people in a neutral state of not really knowing anything, and most can't handle that. So we get explanations, religion, philosophy, "facts"....take it back to the basic idea in science, which is there are 2 sides to everything. One half can not exist without the other. There is something in us humans that makes it impossible to just operate only as robots/machines. What is it???

[Ely North]

It takes a great deal of effort to break away from our natural inclinations. Although I believe that what we think of as our natural inclinations are actually just things that we've learned how to do. So it is possible to learn how to do other things or do things differently. But like I said, it takes a great deal of effort.

[uri]

There is something in us humans that makes it impossible to just operate only as robots/machines. What is it???

I think I disagree with you for the most part. I think that we indeed are just biological "machines". Maybe machine is not the correct word but we definitely are a product of biology, chemistry and physics. Although physics is more fundamental and also much more difficult to understand than either biology and chemistry so I'm definitely not a reliable source on physics.

For further information I can recommend the books The God Delusion and the Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins

http://www.amazon.com/Selfish-Gene-Anniversary----Introduction/dp/0199291152/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346085244&sr=1-1&keywords=the+selfish+gene

http://www.amazon.com/God-Delusion-Richard-Dawkins/dp/0618918248/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346085294&sr=1-1&keywords=the+god+delusion