“Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery.
And today? Today is a gift. That's why
we call it the present."
~ Babatunde Olatunji
Job 12:5-8
Men at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping. The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure — those who carry their god in their hands.
But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.
Bicameralism (the philosophy of "two-chamberedness") is a hypothesis in psychology that argues that the human brain once assumed a state in which cognitive functions were divided between one part of the brain which appears to be "speaking", and a second part which listens and obeys—a bicameral mind. The term was coined by psychologist Julian Jaynes, who presented the idea in his 1976 book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, wherein he made the case that a bicameral mentality was the normal and ubiquitous state of the human mind as recently as 3000 years ago.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameralism_%28psychology%29
Jaynes defines "consciousness" more narrowly than most philosophers. Jaynes' definition of consciousness is synonymous with what philosophers call "meta-consciousness" or "meta-awareness" i.e. awareness of awareness, thoughts about thinking, desires about desires, beliefs about beliefs. This form of reflection is also distinct from the kinds of "deliberations" seen in other higher animals such as crows insofar as Jaynesian consciousness is dependent on linguistic cognition.
Jaynes wrote that ancient humans before roughly 1200 BC were not reflectively meta-conscious and operated by means of automatic, nonconscious habit-schemas. Instead of having meta-consciousness, these humans were constituted by what Jaynes calls the "bicameral mind". For bicameral humans, when habit did not suffice to handle novel stimuli and stress rose at the moment of decision, neural activity in the "dominant" (left) hemisphere was modulated by auditory verbal hallucinations originating in the so-called "silent" (right) hemisphere (particularly the right temporal cortex), which were heard as the voice of a chieftain or god and immediately obeyed.
Jaynes wrote, "[For bicameral humans], volition came as a voice that was in the nature of a neurological command, in which the command and the action were not separated, in which to hear was to obey." Jaynes argued that the change from bicamerality to consciousness (linguistic meta-cognition) occurred over a period of centuries beginning around 1200 BC. The selection pressure for Jaynesian consciousness as a means for cognitive control is due, in part, to chaotic social disorganizations and the development of new methods of behavioral control such as writing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Jaynes
What is the right mix between intuition and analysis? Several clear themes characterized responses to this month's column. Dominant among these was that the best way to reach a decision depends on a number of factors, including the nature of the decision, the nature of the decider, the information available, history, experience, the number of deciders, and so forth.
Nevertheless, several comments reflected an uneasy fondness for a good dose of intuition in the mix. Guy Gould-Davies' comment was particularly insightful: "The idea of using feeling in the context of decision making makes many people highly uncomfortable which is why intuition gets a bad rap. (It implies) … emotion … a lack of discipline and robustness in analysis … the lack of control (replicability)." Pallavi Marathe put it this way: "'Careful Decisions' is a paradox …. If there is past data available to help predict the future, it may be a good idea to refer to it. But in most cases, the decision maker is posed with a unique challenge." Vanitha Rangganathan, arguing for the role of intuition in the creative process, commented that "Experience makes us personally wiser …. 'Wisdom of crowds' breeds convenient conformity and creativity is often lost in the process."
At the other end of the intuition-analysis spectrum, R. C. Saxena opined, "I believe intuition ought not to play any part …. Sincere effort to harness all the collective wisdom coupled with a commitment to deliver the Complete Solution ought to be the key."
What's the Best Way to Make Careful Decisions?
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6339.html
Genesis 3:5
“For God knows that when you eat from it
your eyes will be opened, and you will
be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Then the eyes of both of them were opened...
In order for a patient to make autonomous decisions or to give informed consent to medical treatments or research participation, an individual must have decision-making capacity. The principle of autonomy requires that a physician respect the authority of a patient to make decisions, even when the decisions appear to be unwise.
However, beneficence requires that a physician act in the patient’s best interest. As you recall from the module on autonomy and beneficence, sometimes tension exists between the principles of autonomy and beneficence, and it can be difficult to determine the best course of action.
However, it is important to recognize that autonomy is only possible when the patient possesses the ability to make relevant health decisions. If individuals lack decision-making capability, they may make decisions that are contrary to their best interests and thus need to be protected from harm. If decision-making capacity is intact, the physician generally should respect the patient’s choices. If it is impaired, other arrangements can be made for making health decisions on behalf of the patient (see below for details).
http://missinglink.ucsf.edu/lm/ethics/Content%20Pages/fast_fact_competence.htm
Scientists and seers have shared the common goal of understanding the future since the earliest civilizations. The Romans saw everything as a whole, the Greeks and the Romans both saw everything as a whole. There was no way to separate knowledge out from its use. And the most profound use you could have of knowledge, sacred knowledge, secret knowledge,,,would be an awareness of the future, an awareness of how events that are going on now would play themselves out. So you could say that prophecy, particularly in the Greek and Roman sense, is precursor to everything we think of as science...this same subjective insight into the human soul perhaps comes closest to describing the divining gift of Nostradamus.
Today's headlines are dominated by troubling political and economic forecasts. But more frightening is that the universe has always followed a pattern for, periodic destruction. Our planet has undergone at least five major extinctions in its known history -- the last one occurred 65 million years ago, when dinosaurs were wiped off the face of the earth. Prophets and ancient cultures alike have long written...all great systems of spirit have some vision of the end of days, armageddon, mark of the beast, the fourth horseman...
We're coming up onto some of the most challenging times that the human race has ever faced. A time of transition, maybe as important as when we discovered agriculture. The issues that we're going to face are immense, the territory ahead is dangerous but filled with opportunities.
The Next Nostradamus
http://www.livedash.com/transcript/the_next_nostradamus/5916/HISTP/Sunday_January_2_2011/542187/
Well, I was feelin so bad,
Asked my family doctor 'bout what I had,
I said, doctor, doctor, mister m.d.,
Can you tell me, what's ailing me?
He said, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
All you need, all you really need: good lovin'
Because you got to have lovin (good lovin)
Everybody got to have lovin (good lovin)
A little good lovin now baby, good lovin...
Come on now, everybody get right, (got to have lovin)
You may be weak or you may be blind (got to have lovin)
But even a blind man knows when the sun is shining (got to have lovin)
So turn it on now (got to have lovin)
Turn on, turn on your light (got to have lovin)...
Well turn on your light, you wont regret it (good lovin)
You got to go for the good and get it (good lovin)
Everybody, they got to have lovin (good lovin)
Hey, now you got to have lovin.
Good Lovin ~ La Bamba - Grateful Dead - 9-18-1987 - Madison Sq. Garden, NY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6FaOqv22Ds
"Be not afraid of life. Believe that life IS worth living
and your belief will help create the fact."
~ James Truslow Adams
Religion is a work of art. – Charles T. Smith, philosopher
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but yeah, I think the last days scenario has been playing out since the beginning of time......
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