The Universe understanding

[ivan77]

I was thinking today about the way humans (generally speaking) view themselves as a seperate entity to nature. I mean we refer to things like artificial and man made but really we are a product of nature so everything we think about or create etc is a reflection of nature. What i am trying to get at is, is the universe in some way self understanding or using seemingly intelligent beings to self regulate as (theoretically speaking) we could one day alter large parts of the universe. U could also argue that global warming (which is attributed to man) is really what the earth is doing to itself as we have evolved due to the thing which we are now destroying.

I know it is a very difficult thing to contemplate but i would like to read peoples ideas and theories on this subject.

[Ophiolite]

Your post raises a lot of interesting thoughts. While I would agree that historically many people saw themselves as separate from nature, this was not by any means universal. Bhuddists, for example very much saw, and see, themselves as a part of the natural world. And today I would suspect that the majority of scientists would see man as very much a part of nature.

 

The notion of self-regulation is an intriguing one. Are you proposing a Gaia type situation, where the whole ecosystem works in concert to maintain stability, or are you suggesting that humans, being at the top of the pyramid, have, and in a sense were designed to have, the controlling influence over the progress of all nature?

 

In either case it is worth remembering that self regulating natural systems do not always work well, as your comments about our destruction of the enviroment illustrate.

[Phi for All]

I was thinking today about the way humans (generally speaking) view themselves as a seperate entity to nature.

We are certainly the only creatures who exploit and manipulate our environment to such a huge extent, and I believe that puts us outside of nature's intent. We could choose to be more like other animals but don't. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just that we are unique in that respect.

I mean we refer to things like artificial and man made but really we are a product of nature so everything we think about or create etc is a reflection of nature.

I would disagree with this since we have the choices and abilities NOT to be destructive or invasive' date=' but we do it anyway. And since the discovery of the power of element 92 we have increased our destructive/nature-invasive capabilities by a millionfold.

What i am trying to get at is, is the universe in some way self understanding or using seemingly intelligent beings to self regulate as (theoretically speaking) we could one day alter large parts of the universe.

I tend to make a distinction between what we do to our habitat/home world and what we do in relationship to the universe as a whole. What happens here should be in accordance with nature as much as possible. Whatever happens with the planet will be in accordance with a universal balance, until we start being capable of affecting more and more of the universe.

U could also argue that global warming (which is attributed to man) is really what the earth is doing to itself as we have evolved due to the thing which we are now destroying.

You could, but I don't. I think we are responsible for the damage we have done to our environment, not damage we have done to the Earth. The Earth will be just fine, no matter what state it is in. That state may eventually be inhabitable by some or most, but it will still be the Earth.