Activities of Life—Movement of Physical Objects
Posted: Fri Mar 20, 2015 4:52 pm
For the last few years, I have become increasingly aware of the fact that virtually everything we do (or perhaps absolutely everything we do) can be reduced to moving physical objects.
1. Eating. We move physical objects to our mouth, and swallow, moving them to our stomach. Our digestive system moves them along, etc.
2. Kissing our spouse. We move our physical lips to contact those of our spouse. This brings to mind the definition of a kiss which I once heard. "The anatomical juxtaposition of two oracular muscles in a state of contraction."
3. Playing a game of chess. We are basically moving chess pieces to various locations on a physical board. And we find these movements to have meaning for us.
4. Responding to this forum. We move our fingers on a keyboard, which causes electrical impulses to flow and create images on the monitor screen. We do, in fact, indirectly manipulate those screen images.
I have been searching for something we do that does NOT involve moving physical objects. The only candidate which I have considered to be a possibility is "thinking."But I'm not certain even about that one. Perhaps that activity is the movement of electrical impulses in our brains. Of course, you may think that there is some sort of a non-material metaphysical ego which is the source of all this physical activity—and that may be so. I am inclined to believe that there is a metaphysical "self" which transcends the physical and is that self which causes all that we choose to do. If so, the connection between the metaphysical and the physical is indeed a great mystery and seems to be unfathomable. Indeed it is this "self" or "soul" or "spirit" that many Christians think survives death, even before the resurrection. I disbelieve the latter, but I do not deny the existence of this metaphysical self. How can I, when I perceive myself in this way? As Descartes put it, "Cogito ergo sum." (I think; therefore I am). But what is this "I" that exists? That is the question! I welcome any thoughts you may have on the matter (whatever "thoughts' are).
1. Eating. We move physical objects to our mouth, and swallow, moving them to our stomach. Our digestive system moves them along, etc.
2. Kissing our spouse. We move our physical lips to contact those of our spouse. This brings to mind the definition of a kiss which I once heard. "The anatomical juxtaposition of two oracular muscles in a state of contraction."
3. Playing a game of chess. We are basically moving chess pieces to various locations on a physical board. And we find these movements to have meaning for us.
4. Responding to this forum. We move our fingers on a keyboard, which causes electrical impulses to flow and create images on the monitor screen. We do, in fact, indirectly manipulate those screen images.
I have been searching for something we do that does NOT involve moving physical objects. The only candidate which I have considered to be a possibility is "thinking."But I'm not certain even about that one. Perhaps that activity is the movement of electrical impulses in our brains. Of course, you may think that there is some sort of a non-material metaphysical ego which is the source of all this physical activity—and that may be so. I am inclined to believe that there is a metaphysical "self" which transcends the physical and is that self which causes all that we choose to do. If so, the connection between the metaphysical and the physical is indeed a great mystery and seems to be unfathomable. Indeed it is this "self" or "soul" or "spirit" that many Christians think survives death, even before the resurrection. I disbelieve the latter, but I do not deny the existence of this metaphysical self. How can I, when I perceive myself in this way? As Descartes put it, "Cogito ergo sum." (I think; therefore I am). But what is this "I" that exists? That is the question! I welcome any thoughts you may have on the matter (whatever "thoughts' are).
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