What do you think conscious living could mean -- what would it be like to live life fully, to live with total awareness, to live instead of merely existing? What this would involve, and how we can determine if we are living life fullly, living life counciously.

 

And most importantly, what would be a criterion (standard/s) of conscious living.

 

Sorry for the random post, but im really trying to find a criterion!

What makes you think we don't live with partial awareness because a fully aware perspective would tell you this was a good idea.

 

Why try to agonise over every decision at a crawling speed, when you can pick a perspective and run with it?

 

EDIT: nice question, though.

Well I was thinking that, that is the beauty of the question "what is conscious living?" it is whatever your reality intreprets it to be! Conscious living to me is to know my own reality, my thoughts.

Take words for example. What are they?

What I really am having trouble with is finding a criterion. Does a dualistic perspective make sense as a criterion (standard)?

Spiritual, Emotional and intellectual are better criteria. Just thinking out loud

I'm afraid I don't understand the question.

 

What exactly do you mean by conscious living? As far as I'm aware, I am presently both conscious and alive, so I would surmise that I am using too literal a definition for one or both of these terms.

If it comes to a straight out evaluation fo the man who 80% thinks and 20% acts, and the man who 20% thinks and 80% acts, the latter man will generally be accorded more respect and will have a better class of regrets. In my opinion.

I'm afraid I don't understand the question. 

 

What exactly do you mean by conscious living?  As far as I'm aware, I am presently both conscious and alive, so I would surmise that I am using too literal a definition for one or both of these terms.

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It is a tough question, because you have to ask yourself that question for that is the only answer!

 

Some might be more conscious spritually with a dualistic perspective. focused on a God.

Others might look to themselves inwardly and try to understand how they tick. Why they smile when they are nervous and realize that they smile because its their subcosnscious trying to make them happy once again.

I'd say we exist "half conscious"... the right hemisphere of the brain is unconscious, whereas the left is conscious...

 

Conscious living to me is to know my own reality, my thoughts.

A lot of what we perceive is done through a top-down process whereby our prior knowledge and inferences made by the brain largely determine the final outcome of what it is we are attempting to perceive... thus this would probably fit your 'own reality' theory

 

Hmm... this reminds me that I must organise

(read: find)

my lecture notes before uni starts in October :ph34r:

 

DL

It's difficult, mainly because scientists keep discovering that all the things defined as "intelligent life" are found to be behaviours for other animals, even bacteria!

 

Language? Chimpazees have learnt 200 word vocabularies (sign language: their vocal system is not able to produce human words), and frogs (amphibians) and crickets (insects) used sound millions of years before mammals.

 

Usually some sort of predictive ability and action based on the predictions is stated, but even that is troublesome (see below).

Greater love hath no bug

THEY might be small, but don't call them stupid. Some bacteria show great concern for their fellows, and now biologists have discovered the social skills of one species may rest on an unusually discriminating palate for a key nutrient.

 

If food becomes sparse, many myxobacteria will commit suicide, and this selfless act releases raw materials that go towards protecting the others. Meanwhile, some become dormant spores that can regenerate the colony when the nutrient crisis has passed.

 

A variety of environmental factors can trigger this collective response, but the most important is the level of phosphates

I'm afraid I don't understand the question. 

 

What exactly do you mean by conscious living?  As far as I'm aware, I am presently both conscious and alive, so I would surmise that I am using too literal a definition for one or both of these terms.

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It is a tough question, because you have to ask yourself that question for that is the only answer!

...

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Perhaps that is the best criterion. The ability to ask the Socratic question "who am I, and why?".

 

:cool:

I'd say we exist "half conscious"... the right hemisphere of the brain is unconscious, whereas the left is conscious...

 

Conscious living to me is to know my own reality, my thoughts.

A lot of what we perceive is done through a top-down process whereby our prior knowledge and inferences made by the brain largely determine the final outcome of what it is we are attempting to perceive... thus this would probably fit your 'own reality' theory

 

Hmm... this reminds me that I must organise

(read: find)

my lecture notes before uni starts in October :ph34r:

 

DL

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Intresting, but the left and right brain due communicate though the corpus callosum, where as if that were damaged then i woiuld beleive to have 2 consciousness'. There are a few people out there with this complexity. Its really fascinating to watch them draw, the right hand moces with straight lines while the left hand moves with artistic curves. Fascinating!

I'd say we exist "half conscious"... the right hemisphere of the brain is unconscious, whereas the left is conscious...

 

Conscious living to me is to know my own reality, my thoughts.

A lot of what we perceive is done through a top-down process whereby our prior knowledge and inferences made by the brain largely determine the final outcome of what it is we are attempting to perceive... thus this would probably fit your 'own reality' theory

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Intresting, but the left and right brain due communicate though the corpus callosum, where as if that were damaged then i woiuld beleive to have 2 consciousness'. There are a few people out there with this complexity. Its really fascinating to watch them draw, the right hand moces with straight lines while the left hand moves with artistic curves. Fascinating!

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So by that yardstick, people suffering from personality dissonance illnesses have multiple consciousnesses. (I'm not saying this is wrong, mind you, just making an observation.)

Before you suggest that humans are different, ask yourself why. As far as we can tell, biologically, the brain is just a more complex model than this; not a different one.

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Intresting fact: Cows produce more milk while listening to music.

 

Makes me think of how i produce more work/money while listening to music.

How many goram psychologists do we have on ths forum, anyway?

No-one here but us geeks. :ph34r:

I'd say we exist "half conscious"... the right hemisphere of the brain is unconscious, whereas the left is conscious...

 

Conscious living to me is to know my own reality, my thoughts.

A lot of what we perceive is done through a top-down process whereby our prior knowledge and inferences made by the brain largely determine the final outcome of what it is we are attempting to perceive... thus this would probably fit your 'own reality' theory

 

Hmm... this reminds me that I must organise

(read: find)

my lecture notes before uni starts in October :ph34r:

 

DL

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Intresting, but the left and right brain due communicate though the corpus callosum, where as if that were damaged then i woiuld beleive to have 2 consciousness'. There are a few people out there with this complexity. Its really fascinating to watch them draw, the right hand moves with straight lines while the left hand moves with artistic curves. Fascinating!

 

Edit: Take into consideration that they are drawing two pictures at the same time. while their eyes are closed.

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Before you suggest that humans are different, ask yourself why. As far as we can tell, biologically, the brain is just a more complex model than this; not a different one.

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Intresting fact: Cows produce more milk while listening to music.

 

Makes me think of how i produce more work/money while listening to music.

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Plants are more verdant when exposed to classical music than when left in silence or exposed to other forms of music, like rock and metal.

 

I hope you aren't suggesting plants are conscious. Where would the thoughts appear? In a box?

Before you suggest that humans are different, ask yourself why. As far as we can tell, biologically, the brain is just a more complex model than this; not a different one.

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Intresting fact: Cows produce more milk while listening to music.

 

Makes me think of how i produce more work/money while listening to music.

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Plants are more verdant when exposed to classical music than when left in silence or exposed to other forms of music, like rock and metal.

 

I hope you aren't suggesting plants are conscious. Where would the thoughts appear? In a box?

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it would appear in their soul of course duh!

Perhaps that is the best criterion. The ability to ask the Socratic question "who am I, and why?".

 

I'm doing a report on this. Im using that quote, thanks!

Um, Socrates didn't leave any written record of what he said; all we know about him is what his two students wrote (Plato and Xenaphon, and they may have just been using a creative writing device); still, I'm pretty sure he doesn't use those exact words: I was just summarising.

Haha that would have been funny "

I'm afraid I don't understand the question. 

 

What exactly do you mean by conscious living?  As far as I'm aware, I am presently both conscious and alive, so I would surmise that I am using too literal a definition for one or both of these terms.

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It is a tough question, because you have to ask yourself that question for that is the only answer!

 

Some might be more conscious spritually with a dualistic perspective. focused on a God.

Others might look to themselves inwardly and try to understand how they tick. Why they smile when they are nervous and realize that they smile because its their subcosnscious trying to make them happy once again.

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I can't ask myself a question when I don't understand what I'm asking. And I still don't understand. What are we talking about? Are we asking what makes something concious? What makes something alive? Are we talking about free will? Intelligence? Obviously, everyone here who is managing to respond to the topic of this thread has grasped something about the topic that I don't see. That's because I don't know what the question is, not because I don't know what the answer is.

They would also have been in classical Greek. You should be careful when bluffing in classical Greek since it construction is not the same as most everyday modern languages. Or so I'm told.

 

Metacognition is certainly a good thing. If that is what you mean. Links to succesful completion, and expertise in many tasks. However, anecdotally I can say it can also be a hindrance. Sometimes the zen ideal of acting without thinking can be superior.

I could have sworn that this thread was about "Conscious Lying".

I'm afraid I don't understand the question. 

 

What exactly do you mean by conscious living?  As far as I'm aware, I am presently both conscious and alive, so I would surmise that I am using too literal a definition for one or both of these terms.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is a tough question, because you have to ask yourself that question for that is the only answer!

 

Some might be more conscious spritually with a dualistic perspective. focused on a God.

Others might look to themselves inwardly and try to understand how they tick. Why they smile when they are nervous and realize that they smile because its their subcosnscious trying to make them happy once again.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I can't ask myself a question when I don't understand what I'm asking. And I still don't understand. What are we talking about? Are we asking what makes something concious? What makes something alive? Are we talking about free will? Intelligence? Obviously, everyone here who is managing to respond to the topic of this thread has grasped something about the topic that I don't see. That's because I don't know what the question is, not because I don't know what the answer is.

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We are talking about conscious living mainly in a philosophical way. Conscious living (to be aware of thoughts and your reality, surroundings.) Each mind is different because each one has a different perspective on life. If you mention the word love, you might think of your mom and father, i might think of a one legged prostitute getting topshelfed. We each intrepret the world radically different. So how are you conscious.

 

Sprirtually: Do you more oftern then not look to a god/s for the asnwer to the situation?

 

Emotional: Do you stress or become joyful about the situation?

 

Intellectual: Do you more oftern then not use your knowledge and seek to rationalize the situation?

 

the philosophy answer - which, for many, is the foundation of philosophy: The Life Examined. To me, this entails a state of non-commitment. A philosopher is an observer more than a participant. His influence is indirect, as inspiration of participants. On the one hand, this setting can be viewed as an even more pitiful form of existence