[MD] Collective intelligence

[Micah]

Ian,

You and Platt have given your cats all the attributes of "self". "Self",
like all concepts, is human and cannot apply to cats or any animals. That
would require a non human point of view (there are no other points of view -
"point of view" itself is a uniquely human concept) and humans can only have
a human point of view, so to know that cats think is an affirmation of
"collective consciousness" (which is not possible because I cannot be anyone
other than me or to quote the great philosopher Popeye - "I am what I am and
that's all I am!"; to assume, which you and Platt are doing, is
anthropomorphization. Aaaaaand we're back! Man is the measure of all things.

Micah




<Hi Platt, leaving cat language itself aside, as I suggested ...

<What the cat can communicate with you is one thing, but I doubt the
<cat has any conception of itself to communicate in any way. Like, I
<doubt your cat could communicate the difference between "I'm hungry"
<and "this similar cat next to me is hungry".

<You, a relatively intelligent human - relative to your cat that is ;-)
<- infer the cat is talking about itself because it is "talking", and
<the two of you have some learned behaviors.

<Your cat (my cat too) has all the attributes of self except the
<slightest evidence it can even conveive of it itself, let alone
<communicate it.

<Ian


>
> My cat has all the attributes of a "self" except complex language. But
"himself"
> has no problem communicating his needs to me.