quote:
You have no grasp of what science is. It’s the study of nature in its totality. It does not favor any one species. Any sentient species can use knowledge about nature to its advantage. Science is neutral, unthinking, cold nature.

You're right. And all of that serves no purpose without humanity. We are the only species that attempts to function in a manner beyond instincts in order to fulfill some idea of ethics. Following from this, my claim is that there can be no true purpose, in the sense that our minds conceive of a purpose, beyond humanity itself. Both religious folks and yourself attempt to find a purpose in a concept beyond life itself. Most religions will at least entangle a high value for human life within their belief systems, though.

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You should broaden your thoughts. Population control can be achieved by methods other than sacrificing those who are already living. Attrition is my favored way of reducing the number of humans on earth to a sustainable level.

I understood that you meant attrition. I meant "sacrifice" in the sense of giving one thing up in favor of another.

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Posted by Kentucker

Cincinnati, KY

Member since Apr 2013

19351 posts

Posted on 1/11/20 at 10:30 am to rbWarEagle

quote:
That’s true, but research has still been done and is currently being done. As a researcher, you have to jump through certain hoops in order to acquire whatever substance but it’s possible. I know people that do psilocybin studies in the US, for example.

Research is limited because of CBD’s and marijuana’s statuses as schedule 1 substances, however. Restrictions are so tight as to make the effort too expensive for many research schools. There may be medicinal benefits to heroin, LSD and other schedule 1 drugs, but there is very little research taking place in controlled environments. While schedule 1 drugs might be allowed in some medical research settings, they are not permitted to be used for medical purposes in the United States.

Use of many of the drugs in the general population is showing plenty of benefits, however. Anecdotal evidence for marijuana and CBD is especially strong. It’s ridiculous that they are still officially controlled substances.

I hope President Trump can get them removed from the list. I think only the influence from his Evangelical supporters prevents him from doing so.

This post was edited on 1/11/20 at 10:32 am

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Posted by Kentucker

Cincinnati, KY

Member since Apr 2013

19351 posts

Posted on 1/12/20 at 10:48 am to The Sultan of Swine

quote:
Following from this, my claim is that there can be no true purpose, in the sense that our minds conceive of a purpose, beyond humanity itself.

I agree with you from a strictly reductionist viewpoint. Life is merely a chemical chain reaction. There is no predestined plan except that which is determined by the nature of physical interactions by the components of larger structures and then interactions amongst the larger structures themselves.

It’s at this stage of evolution that purpose is introduced. I say purpose because the direct interactions of chemicals are superseded at the direction of humans, a sentient species. In effect, a superchemical chain reaction (in the form of humans in our example) is taking place in nature.

We call this ability to direct the interactions of chemicals intelligence. While we know of only one species with this ability, scientists are fervently searching the cosmos for evidence of others.

We can ask, “Is intelligence the zenith of evolution?”

I contend that it is not. In my considered opinion, intelligence is an advanced stage of evolution wherein random chemical interactions are replaced by directed ones. Directed by intelligences, such as modern humans, that arose from randomness that was influenced by adaptation, mutations and all of the other attributes of natural selection.

With the evolution of intelligence now governed by an intelligent species, a logical projection is that it will design and create a super-intelligent species. That is, in fact, happening now.

It won’t be in a biologically enhanced human form, however. Our maximum intellectual abilities have been reached. Fortunately, they include the ability to create a self-designing species that will be our successor. We call it artificial intelligence but it is, in every sense of the word, as natural as we are.

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Both religious folks and yourself attempt to find a purpose in a concept beyond life itself.

Honestly, I don’t see any value in making up a purpose for life. I depend upon observations to help me project the direction evolution is taking, especially in humans.

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Most religions will at least entangle a high value for human life within their belief systems, though.

That high value for human life is supposed, however, when one looks at the number of deaths attributed to religious wars fought throughout the history of humanity. Add to that the number of individual murders of people who worship the wrong god, or no god at all, and your statement takes on the feeling of an outright lie to an objective observer.

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Posted by Trumansfangs

Town & Country

Member since Sep 2018

6899 posts

Posted on 1/12/20 at 8:47 pm to spacewrangler

Hello risperidone my old friend.

I've come to talk with you again.

Because a vision softly creeping

Left its seeds while I was sleeping,

And the vision that was planted in my brain

Still remains.

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