Re: What is special about humans?

[Jerry Zhu <***>]

Hi Steve,

Have been in the background (really enjoyed) for a
long while and finally through some pennies to give a
shot.  

I would like to approach your question from
autopoiesis (M&V) point of view. As M&V define the
function of nervous system as to bright forth a world,
we can compare different kinds of species by the world
they bring forth.  Along this line, I classify four
kinds of species in terms of four different kinds of
world brought forth.  

Plants: one dimensional
Bacteria: two dimensional
Organisms: three dimesional
Humans: four dimensional with the fourth one is time.

The size of the world brought forth by the species
determines the capability of that species to
comprehend and construct its environment.  the world
we brough forth is the one we can experience.  We form
hypothesis to describe worlds we can not experience. 
These worlds are outside of the four dimesional
particular to human and could be never comprehensible.


--- Steve Johnson <***> wrote:

> In thinking about "Natural Law" I came to wonder
> about what key factors set humans aside from other
> animals to make the universe comprehensible to them.
> Two possibilities come to mind:
>  
> 1) Nothing. The difference is merely quantitative.
> That is, human circle of understanding is larger
> than that of a dog, which in turn is larger than
> that of a worm and so on in an unbroken continuum.
> For example, we have General Relativity as a model
> of Natural phenomenon we call gravity, while the dog
> has a model that if it catches a spherical object
> and brings it to this creature, the creature will
> give it a sugar cube that it enjoys. In other words,
> humans are a better anticipatory system but only in
> degree, not in kind. 
>  
> 2)  Human mind represents a new kind of emergence
> different in the universe's hierarchy of structure.
> If so, what are the factors that made this emergence
> possible. The only one I could think of is language.
>  
> Any opinions on this?
>  
> - Steve
> 
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