The physics of Gaia

[norseman]

Still dancing around a definition of "consciousness". Until that is settled, then it is hard to discuss the issue [IMO]
Lovelock argued that Gaia has consciousness because there seemed to be an intelligence behind the move to maximise conditions beneficial to life. And Gaia is an extremely complex organism.

Originally Posted by Xan

You could try this investigation for yourself. Let go of all perceptions of form, sensory and mental into emptiness. Then see... Is there still awareness while not aware of any thing.

Just by being conscious of the awareness adds an awareness.

If you have a "vacuum of awareness", but then focus an awareness on it, it's no longer a vaccuum.. I don't think one can be aware yet not aware; you either are, or you aren't.

Well, that turned into a nice circle. I'll post it anyway.

[immortal coil]

At the highest levels there is no form because everything is in essence, nothing. We perceive ourselves as existing. However, the truth is that there need not be a thought or form to prop up an existence.

It's hard to warp your brain around. Impossible to truly understand with the finite limitations we've set for ourselves.

Progress it the only thing we've got. Continue to temper the infinite form.

When I look into emptiness, I just see an eye. It is just a mirror, I guess.. But it's interesting you made this thread, I was just laying on the grass thinking if all grass shares consciousness. And if there were a higher consciousness than that. And maybe whatever has the most consciousness would be god. Or at least a god.

[Xan]

How about eternal unboundaried formless consciousness?


Xan

Originally Posted by norseman

Still dancing around a definition of "consciousness". Until that is settled, then it is hard to discuss the issue [IMO]
Lovelock argued that Gaia has consciousness because there seemed to be an intelligence behind the move to maximise conditions beneficial to life. And Gaia is an extremely complex organism.

It really is impossible to discuss this without defining consciousness.

You would then have to decide when consciousness arises, what that entails for the object/lifeform and then you could decide if the Earth itself is conscious.

The Gaia theory is based entirely on conjecture, as far as I can see.

It could just be the label we put on the seemingly infinite complexity of environments' ecosystems. In the past, it's been easy to explain away complexity by assigning all actions to one conscious being (such as an omnipotent god) and I think Gaia theory does the same thing. We can't understand the complexity, so people think maybe it is a conscious actor.

Instead we could accept that it's too complex for us to figure out all at once and if we want to know how the Earth's ecosystems work, we can look at them one by one, little by little, and start putting the pieces together in puzzle with nearly infinite pieces. It may be an undertaking that's beyond human capacity, but people love to try.