Matter consumption determines an individual's existance

Discussion in 'Human Science' started by Zefrieg, Feb 27, 2002.

  1. Zefrieg Registered Member

    Messages:
    7
    The matter that is consumed during a lifespan is what determines individual existance. It might be hard for some people to understand this, but most people can agree with this statement if they are given a good explaination. An easy, and well known, summary of this is "you are what you eat".

    As most people know, everything that exists in the universe is made up of matter. An object must have mass to exist, and everything that has mass is matter, by definition. That means that everything around people is matter, including the people themselves.

    The way people, and other creatures, gain and replace matter is through consumption. The thing that seperates one individual from another is the fact that they are made up of a seperate collection of matter. Even though twins or a clone are organically identicle, they are still seperate beings that inhabit their own space.

    (Here comes the hard part)

    Now, we all start life as a one-celled organism. After fertilization we connect to the uterus, and start our life-long process of consumption. The cells start to divide, and a complex organism is formed from the schematics of our DNA. Well, those first few cells do not determine existance. In fact, those same cells are not part of our bodies right now, because the matter has been discarded as waste a long time ago. The body that exists as a person right now is just a built clone of that original DNA schematic in that cell. The thing that determines existance is what a person is made up of at any one time. A person is just the things that he or she has consumed up to any point in his or her life.

    Let's say that over a person's life he or she consumed a whole seperate set of matter other than what he or she has actually consumed. Would the same person's consiousness still exist? The answer is, no. If the person is made up of a different set of matter than it really is, then it would be along the lines of a twin of that person. A duplicate person would still exist in the world in the place of the original, and even have the same thoughts, beliefs, and reactions. Although, there would basically be somebody else who recieves the stimulus, and controls the body. Another way to show this effect is to clone a person's brain with all memories and thoughts intact, and then replace the original brain with the cloned one. If the person could possibly recover, he or she would wake up, and seem like they were same person as before. It still remains that the original person is not really there, and only a copy exists in their place. This would be the same as if you consumed different matter during your life. If you brain was made up of a seperate set of matter then you wouldn't exist. A person that is exactly like you would exist in your place.

    Well, that is all I have been thinking about lately. Some people might not agree with this, but I ask that you keep an open mind about it. If you would like me to clearify any of this just say so. I have found it hard to explain this to some people. A couple of people just have a hard time understanding this stuff.
     
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  3. TruthSeeker Fancy Virtual Reality Monkey Valued Senior Member

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    Zefrieg,

    First, welcome to sciforums!

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    It all made sense, for me, until the fourth paragraph...

    Do you concider thoughts and beliefs a kind of matter? Because if not, it doesn't make much sense...

    Explain it more carefully, please...

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    Love,
    Nelson
     
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  5. Chagur .Seeker. Registered Senior Member

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    Zefrieg ...

    Is you post a subtle endorsement for cannibalism?

    Take care, and welcome to Sciforums

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  7. Zefrieg Registered Member

    Messages:
    7
    Well..

    What I was trying to say is that a person's nervous system is built from the things he or she has consumed. Think of a building. If this building was demolished and rebuilt using the same blueprints, but with different materials, would it be the same building? Not at all. It would just be similar in that it looks exactly the same as the previous building. The previous buiding that was torn down is gone; probably in some pile of junk. The same goes for your nervous system. For you to exist as an individual, your nervous system has to contain the same matter it does at the moment you are reading this. If it was built with a seperate set of materials, like the building, you would not exist right now. Sure, there would be something there that looked and acted exactly as you do, but it still wouldn't be you. Since you get the materials to build your nervous system from eating, then consumption determines your individual existance.
     
  8. Tyler Registered Senior Member

    Messages:
    4,888
    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you made a poor analogy there.

    If we re-built the building with a different kind of material, it would be different altogether. If we re-made it with the exact same kind of material, but different actual materials, it would not be different.

    For instance:

    LLLLLL

    I just made a picture using 6 L's

    now, here's another picture using hte same 'blueprints', the same kind of 'material' but different actual building blocks

    LLLLLL

    Do the two pictures differ in any way besides where they are placed? No.

    You're building example would like this:

    LLLLLL

    and then:

    RRRRRR
     
  9. Zefrieg Registered Member

    Messages:
    7
    Beleifs and thoughts are matter too. They are produced from electrical impulses, and by the pathing of cells in your brian. Everything in your brain has some type of mass, and can be measured. Beleifs, thoughts, and morals do not determine your existance, they just tell you how to react to your environment. Beliefs, thoughts, and morals are basically programs running in the computer that is your brain. The only difference from electronic circuits that your brain has, is that your brain reconfigures itself, and its programs, all the time.
     
  10. Zefrieg Registered Member

    Messages:
    7
    Guess I will correct you

    Well, like you pointed out, those 6 L's look exactly the same, but you also said that they exist in different locations. My explaination with buildings is exactly the same as what you did here. You have to think beyond the sensory evidence. Sure, you see two sets of L's that are exactly the same; I assure you, that they are not the same. Your brain is just comparing them, and it reports that they are visually similar. That fact is, each set is made up of seperate sets of matter. The first set of L's are a seperate data string that exists in a different location on the harddrive/memory from the second set. Both sets of data are built exactly the same based on the design you gave it (LLLLLL). What you need to think about is that the data structures for the two strings are built with seperate sets of energy and matter at a sub-atomic level. Even if things are built with the same types of materials does not mean they are exactly the same. The fact that they exist in different places at any point of time is enough to make them unique. Thus, making them different from eachother.
     
  11. TruthSeeker Fancy Virtual Reality Monkey Valued Senior Member

    Messages:
    15,162
    Zefrieg,

    Superficially speakng... yes, you are right!

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    But who you are and your appearence woyld be the same...

    Love,
    Nelson
     

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