[MD] (MD] Collective intelligence

[David M]

Arlo said:

> In the end, this "individual v. collective" tripe is simply propagandistic
> bunk, if not shoddy and manipulative philosophy. There is no tension, no 
> war,
> no epic battle. The "self" is not a point of either "individual 
> proprietary
> awareness" nor "collective consciousness", it is a fusion, a synthesis, a
> happy, dialogic co-construct of the two.
>


DM: On an island alone I doubt a human being would ever come to see
themselves as an individual. Surely it is when the family and community
holds us to account that we realise we are individuals. I remember my
nephew insisting for a couple of years that he was a nameless 'nothing'
whenever we referred to him by name. Babies are not aware of being
individuals, this is something they achieve. Can an animal ever be a true
individual?