Chapter 9 - Cosmology Questions and Answers

Question 1

How does consciousness creatively reveal itself to itself?

Answer 1

Goes through series of steps, each more limiting than previous one
Theme/intellect - body of law and contexts
Mental - body of meaning and thought
Vital - body of life
Physical - body that maps representations of vital and mental

Question 2

Evolution

Answer 2

Representation or map-making of what is already in consciousness

Question 3

Range of past lives

Answer 3

We have reincarnated as single cells, plants, animals - with “group souls” or species consciousness - and now as humans. Consciousness learns about itself in the course of vast journey through all these incarnations. We have all traversed space and time in this manner many times.

Question 4

What about Occam’s razor, the value of succinctness?

Answer 4

Scientists have simplified many systems, but leave out most important thing of all: consciousness. Attempts to reduce everything in biology and psychology to genetic and behavioral determinism has only created prejudiced and unscientific attitude towards all aspects of it that don’t fit reductionist view.

Question 5

A Darwinist would say that the perception of meaning is a result of evolution; it arises because it has survival value

Answer 5

Ultimately, a material brain is a symbolic-processing machine. Even a quantum-mechanical brain processes symbols in possibility. There is no room for meaning.

Question 6

So the mind is not the brain, but what about the vital body? What makes it valid?

Answer 6

It processes functions of life. Darwinism suggests survival is pivotal point of theory, obviously central to living. But what physical reason is there for survival instinct? Molecular behavior can be explained completely without survival, without demanding additional property of wanting to survive. Yet living beings, which are molecular aggregates, do want to survive.

Question 7

What practical use is vital body?

Answer 7

Ordinarily physical body functions with conditioned representation of vital functions, but when disease comes we need creativity of vital body.

Question 8

What is the use of the vital body?

Answer 8

Emotions

Question 9

Would you call ordinary creativity the creativity of the mental body?

Answer 9

Yes, and mental creativity can also be a leap to intellect. Creativity is discovery of new meaning (creativity of mental body) or new context of thinking (creative jump to the intellect body)

Question 10

Can physical universe be subject to creativity beyond normal lawfulness?

Answer 10

Yes, may be possible to reach such heights of creativity that miracles are possible. In physical creativity, creatives quantum leap to intellectual body and bend physical laws to creative will. Requires unusual control of intellect body.

Question 11

Materialists

Answer 11

Don’t treat entire chain of being, only conditioned part.