Re: What is special about humans?

[Steve Johnson <***>]

Jerry,

What is the meaning of the word "dimension" here? Do
you mean "dimension" as in physical space-time
dimension? In that case I can imagine that animals do
not experience time the way humans do. That is they do
not have an explicit awareness of past and future and
time's directionality. I can also see that a plant is
"one dimensional" in a spatial sense. But why is a
unicellular mobile animal is less dimensional than a
metacellular one? Or do you use the term "dimension"
in the sense of some abstract "dimension of
existence"?

- Steve

 



--- Jerry Zhu <***> wrote:

> 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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> 
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