[MD] (MD] Collective intelligence

[Ham Priday]

 [Ron]:
> Does not what we know influence our values?

Yes, of course.  But what drives us to search for truth is the value of 
understanding.  I maintain that this is unique to man's intellect.  What 
other creature seeks an intellectual understanding of its world?  The fox 
has the cunning to prowl for its prey, and birds fly south in winter to 
insure a supply of theirs, but these are mainly instinctual behavior 
patterns.  Man has an innate need "to know" that far exceeds his sensory and 
intellectual capacity.  Poets have waxed lyrically about man's yearning as 
the stuff of which dreams are made.  If there is a special purpose for human 
life, isn't it suggested by man's extraordinary desire to explore the 
"unknown" and his power to discriminate morally, aesthetically, and 
intellectually?

 [Ham, previously]:
> I'm distressed and disappointed to see the
> Collective Intellect repeatedly idolized in this forum.

[Ron]:
> It was an observation and something I bumped into
> reading Ken Wilbur, I thought it was interesting and
> thought kicking this around would be some fun,
> didn't mean to upset you Ham. I learned a lot on your
> site and made me question just how we generally
> percieve things and just how far in our perception
> Value sensibility modulates. Does our value sensibility
> manifest in intellect ? For if all we know and experience
> is an illusion, then perhaps our rationality of it is also.

I'm gratified that someone could "learn" from my thesis, since I have no 
accreditation as a teacher nor any special expertise in philosophy.

Probably the best way to address your "illusion" question is to say that 
while man's experience of Reality is illusionary, conscious awareness is 
not.  I see rationality as the tool of intellection necessary for the 
survival of a creature who lacks the support of animal  instinct.  We all 
try to "figure out" what the world is about and how best to get where we're 
going with a minimum of pain and anguish.  Knowledge gained from our 
experience is our existential source for reason.  If we are fortunate, we 
learn early in the game what kind of behavior favors our survival, and we 
call it rationality. It has great practical value for a successful life, but 
we don't live for reason alone.  We aspire to "higher things" to which value 
is attached.  And the more experience we have, the greater our ability to 
discriminate among the values we sense.

More later.

--Ham

> http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/