Ourcellves? (Identity)

by romansh , Sunday, April 06, 2014, 16:57 (3667 days ago) @ dhw
edited by unknown, Sunday, April 06, 2014, 17:33

To me this seems a very limited view of materialism.-When rowing on a pond, a swirl (eddie) can be induced on the surface of the water with an oar. The swirl draws in water and throws it out again. While not an accurate metaphor for the self, I think it is quite poetic and should suffice for now.-Did the swirl exist before the oar was drawn through the water? To use a Buddhist like cliche, the swirl is composed completely of non swirl water molecules, my table is made up of non table atoms as also is my 'self' composed of non self components and experiences.-And before we get drawn down the rabbit warren of emergence ... can we be clear which sense of emergent we are using the word ... strong or weak-And I will quote Bedau again ...
>>> Although strong emergence is logically possible, it is uncomfortably like magic. How does an irreducible but supervenient downward causal power arise, since by definition it cannot be due to the aggregation of the micro-level potentialities?