Philosophy

This section will contain posts in Philosophy, Psychology and Consciousness.

Psychology is a science. Philosophy consists of ideas, or hypothesis, that have not yet, or may not ever, be recognized as science.

The American Psychological Association states that "Psychologists employ the scientific method — stating the question, offering a theory and then constructing rigorous laboratory or field experiments to test the hypothesis."  So a hypothesis would be considered philosophy until it is recognized has having been verified as science.

I will post ideas that will deal with the attitudes, mindsets and perspectives that I think will lead to better psychological health. Some of these ideas are recognized as part of psychology, while others are still considered philosophy.

For example, practicing gratitude is recognized by the psychological community as a healthy practice. But a philosophy of life that includes practicing gratitude may also include ideas and practices that may not (yet) be recognized as part of the science of psychology. Other philosophical ideas, such as the role language itself plays in forming of our psyche, is 'far from straightforward'.

       

There are Three Basic Meanings of Consciousness as stated in the article of the same name by Gregg Henriques Ph.D. Those meanings are:

  1. functional awareness of the external environment
  1. subjective experience
  1. explicit self-consciousness awareness

From any definition, consciousness is a component of psychology. Definition #1, functional awareness, is detectable, measurable and clearly within the realm of science. Subjective experience and explicit self-consciousness awareness can be discussed among humans, but not accurately measured and quantified. Subjective experience in animals, and if animals even have self-conscious awareness, is speculative, and thus is within the realm of philosophy.

In summary, most of the posts from this blog will contain aspects of 2, or possibly all 3 of the disciplines mentioned here.
 
For a list of the Philosophy posts, click here:



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Low End Chromebook Adventure

Image
  I bought a low end Chromebook. See what it can do. A Chromebook can function as a workstation A Chromebook can be your TV's streaming device Beware of relying too much on internal storage      7 minute read Introduction You've decided to get a Chromebook. Now what? There are numerous Chromebooks available each with its own set of specifications (specs). Fortunately, there are a number of websites that provide a lot of information about what Chromebooks are available and what capabilities that they have at what price. This article will address my experience with the Flagship HP Chromebook I bought recently at Amazon for $135: This Chromebook is a low end machine. So before you spend more $$ than might be necessary, lets see what a low end 11.6" Chromebook provides. Support Before you buy a Chromebook, go to the Google
Read more

My Personal Philosophy

Image
The Answer Like a lot of people, I have been searching most of my life for the answer to the big questions: Who are we? Why are we here?  How did it all get here? What is reality? Luther Standing Bear Wikipedia Then I read the response from Luther Standing Bear of the Lakota Nation, when he was asked “Who is God?” He replied : From Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka , the Great Spirit, there came a great unifying life force that flowed in and through all things - the flowers of the plains, blowing winds, rocks, trees, birds, animals - and was the same force that had been breathed into the first man. Thus all things were kindred, and were brought together by the same Great Mystery The answer is there is no answer. Nobody knows. It is a tremendous relief to let go of the endless task of trying to figure it all out. It’s an emancipation from the never ending debates. Debating the nature of the Great Spirit is pointless since the Great Spirit is the Great Mystery. Spiritual Harmony with Science The c
Read more

Did Semantics Cause Your Conflict?

Image
The Meaning of a Word is more than a dictionary definition Our life experience shapes the meaning of words Some words or phrases are ambiguous 5 minute read Ludwig Wittgentstein Ludwig Wittgenstein , the 20th century philosopher, famously said, “ If a lion could speak, we would not understand what he said... I can't understand a lion's language because I don't know what his world is like.” (It is dramatized in a 4 minute video here .) The world Wittgenstein meant is the world of experience. Our experiences form our worldview, our reality. He didn't mean that a lion would speak in some foreign tongue , but that whatever words or phrases the lion used, he could not convey the idea or experience he was trying to describe. Photo by  jean wimmerlin on  Unsplash The way a lion runs, hunts, catches prey, eats and mates are beyond our experience. If a lion talked about any of these activities, how could we understand him? We would have no shared con
Read more