Subj : Back again
To   : Richard M. Meic
From : Kevin Gibson
Date : Sun Jul 15 2001 06:04 am

..
 Hello Richard,

 RM> I challenge everyone (you, John and the lurkers) to identify the
 RM> originator of the following quote:

 RM> "We are the universe attempting to discover itself."

 That's similar to saying "I am the eye" but expanded outward,
 beyond "We are the world."  A person might use different words
 to describe the dawning of consciousness and the struggle to
 learn and comprehend.

 Reflect on Plato's allegory of the cave and consider this:

  "A human being is a part of the whole, called by us the Universe,
  a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his
  thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest - a kind
  of optical delusion of his consciousness.  This delusion is a kind
  of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to
  affection for a few persons nearest to us.  Our task must be to
  free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion
  to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
  Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such
  achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and of a foundation
  for inner security."
                                    -- Albert Einstein


  For a different perspective, peruse the writings of Pierre Teilhard
  de Chardin on "noogenesis" and "the noosphere."

  There's more that I would say, but this subject could easily consume
  far more time than I want to devote to it.

..

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