From morality to equality

MoK July 10, 2025 at 14:41 3725 views 107 comments
Two alignments get involved when it comes to morality, namely, good and evil. We can realize that something is good when it is pleasing, and in the same manner, we can realize that something is evil when the person is suffering. Good and evil creatures like pleasure and suffering, respectively, and dislike suffering and pleasure, respectively, as well. Morality, therefore, is about realizing what is right (what we should do, good or evil) and what is wrong/bad (what we should not do, good or evil). Humans are not perfect, judge or criminal, for example; therefore, we should leave room for their ignorance as well when it comes to justice. Justice is the ability to realize what the judge should command. The goal should be equality for humans.

Comments (107)

AmadeusD July 10, 2025 at 19:48 #999724
Quoting MoK
something is evil when the person is suffering


Do you want to maybe qualify this? I suffer every morning when I put my body under immense pressure to achieve a better body.
Leontiskos July 10, 2025 at 19:54 #999728
Quoting MoK
Good and evil creatures like pleasure and suffering, respectively, and dislike suffering and pleasure, respectively, as well.


So you would claim that evil creatures like suffering and dislike pleasure?
MoK July 10, 2025 at 20:03 #999732
Quoting AmadeusD

Do you want to maybe qualify this? I suffer every morning when I put my body under immense pressure to achieve a better body.

Experiencing evil is not a bad thing per se. I am not in your position, so I cannot judge why your suffering is unpleasant to you. Suffering is not unpleasant to me. There is, of course, a reason for that if you start believing that they might be creatures in charge of Judging us that we are not aware of.
MoK July 10, 2025 at 20:04 #999733
Quoting Leontiskos

So you would claim that evil creatures like suffering and dislike pleasure?

Correct.
AmadeusD July 10, 2025 at 20:09 #999735
Reply to MoK That seems to run against the definition, and practical use of 'evil'. It seems a descriptor for that which is particularly unpleasant in an arbitrary manner.

Could you outline how you're using 'evil' here? I don't think many would recognize it.
MoK July 10, 2025 at 20:30 #999746
Quoting AmadeusD

That seems to run against the definition, and practical use of 'evil'.

Humans are mostly inclined toward good, prefer good over evil. There are plenty of people who enjoy evil, such as masochists.

Quoting AmadeusD

It seems a descriptor for that which is particularly unpleasant in an arbitrary manner.

I don't think so. Do you mind elaborating after reading this post?

Quoting AmadeusD

Could you outline how you're using 'evil' here? I don't think many would recognize it.

Depending on the person you are, you are a good person, you only enjoy/like good experiences. I don't know why you are suffering.
180 Proof July 10, 2025 at 20:51 #999752
Quoting MoK
The goal should be equality for humans.

Why?
MoK July 10, 2025 at 20:58 #999753
Quoting 180 Proof

Why?

So you think that inequality in humanity is right? Someone starves to death while others enjoy the wealth! Each person is unique and has the potential to grow. Is that proper to leave such a potential in poverty?
180 Proof July 10, 2025 at 21:18 #999755
Reply to MoK You made the statement so you should answer for it: why "the goal should be equality for humans"?
MoK July 11, 2025 at 16:17 #999892
Quoting 180 Proof

You made the statement so you should answer for it: why "the goal should be equality for humans"?

I invite you to reread and rethink my last post. Think of a situation in which you are living on the street.
Leontiskos July 11, 2025 at 17:08 #999904
MoK July 11, 2025 at 17:32 #999905
Reply to Leontiskos
I am wondering why you like @180 Proof post. Do you like to live on the street?
Leontiskos July 11, 2025 at 17:47 #999907
Reply to MoK - People on TPF often refuse the burden of proof, even when they obviously have it. When you start a thread promoting equality, then you are clearly the one who needs to defend your equality-claim.
MoK July 11, 2025 at 18:32 #999917
Quoting Leontiskos

People on TPF often refuse the burden of proof, even when they obviously have it. When you start a thread promoting equality, then you are clearly the one who needs to defend your equality-claim.

I already asked you a question that you didn't answer. That is the key to the discussion. So, I repeat the question: Do you like to live on the street and lose all the luxury that you have right now? Some people live on the street, and they apparently don't like it. This situation seems unjust. If it is, and we could not realize the reason for being just, then we have ignorance about the situation! We are, however, minds in the core, plain and simple. The question is, why should minds be treated differently? We could believe in the Divinities, saying things are just for a reason, but just humans are ignorant of it. Why should humans be kept in ignorance? Do you have an answer to the last question?
180 Proof July 12, 2025 at 01:45 #999982
Reply to MoK :roll:
Reply to Leontiskos :clap: :up:
LuckyR July 12, 2025 at 05:43 #999985
Reply to MoK So many details left out of the OP. Do you believe (as I do) that "good" and "evil" are subjective descriptors? If not, whose definition of the terms is the objectively correct one? In your experience, do most acts of "evil" occur because someone had a warped set of moral codes, say believing that murder is okay, or because of a failure to follow a standard set of moral codes, that is believing murder is wrong, but performing it anyway because of desiring the payoff if they did?
MoK July 12, 2025 at 14:29 #1000023
Reply to 180 Proof
Why don't you answer my question?
MoK July 12, 2025 at 14:37 #1000029
Quoting LuckyR

So many details left out of the OP. Do you believe (as I do) that "good" and "evil" are subjective descriptors?

Mind experiences. Good and evil are features of experiences.

Quoting LuckyR

If not, whose definition of the terms is the objectively correct one?

I would be happy to know if I am wrong somewhere.

Quoting LuckyR

In your experience, do most acts of "evil" occur because someone had a warped set of moral codes, say believing that murder is okay, or because of a failure to follow a standard set of moral codes, that is believing murder is wrong, but performing it anyway because of desiring the payoff if they did?

Killing a human in most cases is wrong, since life is the main property of an individual. There are cases where individuals require death assistance, like people with locked-in syndrome. In this case, it is allowed!
180 Proof July 12, 2025 at 17:21 #1000057
Reply to MoK Too many non sequitors ...

Besides, as @Leontiskos points out, the burden of proof is on you – answer my question:

https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/999752
MoK July 12, 2025 at 17:35 #1000063
Quoting 180 Proof

Too many non sequitors ...

A simple question cannot be a non-sequitur! The answer to that question is the key to understanding why equality is the goal. We have a dichotomy of just and unjust. Do you think that humans' lives are just? We have a dichotomy of equality and inequality as well. I think that just lives for humans is when there is equality. It seems that you think otherwise. You think that it is right that people live on the street.
180 Proof July 12, 2025 at 18:14 #1000069
Reply to MoK Why don't you answer my question?

https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/999752
MoK July 12, 2025 at 18:27 #1000070
Reply to 180 Proof
I did. Please reread my post here.
javi2541997 July 13, 2025 at 05:08 #1000176
Quoting MoK
Think of a situation in which you are living on the street.


It would be a hard situation, but I can't see if it is related to inequality. Perhaps it is more connected to my personal circumstances which make me live on the street. In my humble opinion, I believe we should consider why I could end up living on the street rather than if it is a lack of inequality. Living on the street may be a personal decision to escape from reality rather than a cause of financial issues.
LuckyR July 13, 2025 at 05:21 #1000178
Reply to MoK
I'm not detecting answers to my questions, so I guess we can't converse.
MoK July 13, 2025 at 14:54 #1000229
Quoting javi2541997

It would be a hard situation, but I can't see if it is related to inequality.

Correct, it is hard! However, some people on the street might wish for a different life, might deserve a different life. Is there any social system to support such individuals? Equality is related to being in a situation you deserve.

Quoting javi2541997

Perhaps it is more connected to my personal circumstances which make me live on the street. In my humble opinion, I believe we should consider why I could end up living on the street rather than if it is a lack of inequality. Living on the street may be a personal decision to escape from reality rather than a cause of financial issues.

Equality does not mean that all people should be similar. Equality is about receiving the required income for all individuals so they can constantly contribute, constantly grow, etc.
javi2541997 July 13, 2025 at 19:03 #1000281
Reply to MoK I understand your point, and I can't disagree with that. But I want to point out that there can be a possibility that the person you are thinking of doesn't want to live accordingly. I mean, there are some nomads out there. There are examples of people who live here and fro without having a constant house to live in. Perhaps it would be interesting to study each individual case rather than trying to promote access to housing for everyone.
MoK July 13, 2025 at 19:06 #1000283
Reply to javi2541997
Indeed, it is interesting to study each individual case!
AmadeusD July 13, 2025 at 20:36 #1000305
Quoting MoK
There are plenty of people who enjoy evil, such as masochists.


but this violates your use of 'evil' as that would not be suffering.

Quoting MoK
I don't think so. Do you mind elaborating after reading this post?


I cannot see a reason beyond 'it's unpleasant' to label any given x 'evil'. It doesn't work for most examples I can think of, other than as an arbitrary label for 'unpleasant' which we alreayd have and use.

Quoting MoK
Depending on the person you are, you are a good person, you only enjoy/like good experiences. I don't know why you are suffering.


This seems non sequitur.
MoK July 13, 2025 at 20:52 #1000307
Quoting AmadeusD

but this violates your use of 'evil' as that would not be suffering.

I think I should have used the word "like" instead of "enjoy" to avoid confusion: There are plenty of people who like evil, such as masochists.

Quoting AmadeusD

I cannot see a reason beyond 'it's unpleasant' to label any given x 'evil'.

If by unpleasant you mean dislike, then that couldn't be correct. I already illustrated in the OP what I mean by good and evil and what I mean by good and evil creatures.

Quoting AmadeusD

This seems non sequitur.

It is not. You are a good person, by a good person I mean that you prefer pleasure instead of suffering. You expressed that you don't like pain in your first post in this thread. Therefore, you could not be an evil creature.
AmadeusD July 14, 2025 at 19:54 #1000446
Quoting MoK
I think I should have used the word "like" instead of "enjoy" to avoid confusion: There are plenty of people who like evil, such as masochists.


This doesn't solve the issue. If Evil is as you describe, no amount of enjoyment is acceptable under that category. That's a serious problem here.

Quoting MoK
I already illustrated in the OP what I mean by good and evil and what I mean by good and evil creatures.


And you have not used htem consistently, as noted here and prior. That's the entire point of these replies. The inconsistency is, I believe, leading you claim things you don't hold true.

Quoting MoK
by a good person I mean that you prefer pleasure instead of suffering. You expressed that you don't like pain in your first post in this thread. Therefore, you could not be an evil creature.


1. No i didn't. At all. And the post is right there. Here's the post:

Quoting AmadeusD
Do you want to maybe qualify this? I suffer every morning when I put my body under immense pressure to achieve a better body.


That's the entire post. So, either you're lying or thinking of something else. I am unsure whether you're having some trouble, or you just forgot what thread you were in?

2. That concept of a Good person is a non sequitur. As noted.

3. That doesn't fit with either your conception, or general conceptions. If you 'like' pain, then you enjoy it and prefer pleasure to suffering (you have confused suffering and pain here, to be sure).

Non sequiturs all the way down, it seems.
MoK July 14, 2025 at 20:21 #1000453
Reply to AmadeusD
Suffering could be psychological or physical, so-called pain in the second case. It seems to me that you don't like suffering, pain, for example. That means that you have a good nature or you are a good creature.
javi2541997 July 15, 2025 at 04:44 #1000527
Reply to MoK As we discussed in another thread of mine, I think suffering is something intrinsically human. Perhaps something that is very connected to the human condition. We only distinguish between physical and psychological to make boundaries, but the effect is the same.
MoK July 15, 2025 at 16:03 #1000617
Quoting javi2541997

As we discussed in another thread of mine, I think suffering is something intrinsically human. Perhaps something that is very connected to the human condition.

I think other creatures, like animals, also suffer.

Quoting javi2541997

We only distinguish between physical and psychological to make boundaries, but the effect is the same.

By physical suffering, I mean a kind of suffering whose cause is physical, like when you cut your finger. Psychological suffering is otherwise. The effect is the same, namely suffering.

AmadeusD July 15, 2025 at 19:57 #1000661
Reply to MoK This does not address anything I've said, unfortunately.
MoK July 15, 2025 at 20:26 #1000668
Reply to AmadeusD
Do you like or dislike suffering?
AmadeusD July 16, 2025 at 01:32 #1000728
Reply to MoK It entirely depends on the scenario, and whether you want me to admit to enjoying it tout court or as an indirect indicator of some other positive (i.e, the pain of healing from a surgery is almost always "a good" in some sense, but may not be pleasant). I do not enjoy arbitrary suffering.
MoK July 16, 2025 at 15:40 #1000825
Reply to AmadeusD
Ok, so could you give an example of when you like suffering?
Hanover July 16, 2025 at 18:32 #1000852
Quoting MoK
The goal should be equality for humans.


Like @180 Proof, this struck me as the unsupported part of your OP and I'd ask why this should be the goal.

To quote Dylan:

"A self-ordained professor’s tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
“Equality,” I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I’m younger than that now."

That is, an unnuanced equation of liberty or goodness generally to equality or really to any one single thing is overly simplistic, the behavior of someone who claims to know more than he knows, the result of clinging to youthful unprocessed idealism.
MoK July 16, 2025 at 18:49 #1000854
Reply to Hanover
I already discussed what I mean by equality through my conversation by @javi2541997. The thread is short so you can spot those posts quickly. If you wish, I can see if I can find more information than this discussion.
MoK July 16, 2025 at 18:57 #1000855
Reply to Hanover
I also respond to @180 Proof as well in this thread. He refused to answer my question, which was key to the discussion, calling it a non-sequitur!
AmadeusD July 16, 2025 at 19:45 #1000861
Reply to MoK I've given you one. In the morning when I put my body through hell to achieve a better body (inter alia, to be sure. I'm not a pure narcissist).
MoK July 16, 2025 at 19:53 #1000862
Reply to AmadeusD
Ok, so you are having a sort of pain, muscle pain, for example. Muscle pain is my case. I think we are simple people dealing with suffering and are not narcissists at all.
AmadeusD July 16, 2025 at 20:08 #1000868
Reply to MoK I don't know what you want me to get from this.. .
MoK July 16, 2025 at 20:11 #1000869
Reply to AmadeusD
You respond to my OP by saying about your pain. It seems that you can handle it, which sounds right to me. I still don't know whether you agree with my OP or not.
Fire Ologist July 16, 2025 at 20:48 #1000879
Quoting MoK
The goal should be equality for humans.


I agree ‘equality before the law’ is a good political ideal. That’s one whole conversation, about politics and the formation of the relationship between citizens and the state and the law.

I agree equal opportunity would be nice, but practically will never happen. That’s economics and maybe sociology. Totally different discussion and use of “equality”. We will never be able to create a world where all people have all opportunities equally because of the nature of people and the nature of the world, and the nature of people in the world.

I disagree people are by nature equal to each other. Quite the opposite, I believe all of us are each unique, and unequal. This is biology, psychology and theology.

So depending on what you mean by “equality for humans”, and unless you are only talking politics, I likely disagree with you.

Quoting MoK
Two alignments get involved when it comes to morality, namely, good and evil


I don’t know what that means.
MoK July 16, 2025 at 21:10 #1000882
Quoting Fire Ologist

I agree ‘equality before the law’ is a good political ideal.

I agree too.

Quoting Fire Ologist

That’s one whole conversation, about politics and the formation of the relationship between citizens and the state and the law.

Correct, given your last point.

Quoting Fire Ologist

I agree equal opportunity would be nice, but practically will never happen.

How about not spending money on the military, saving money for the right education, and creating new job opportunities? Could you rationalize making a weapon to kill humans?

Quoting Fire Ologist

We will never be able to create a world where all people have all opportunities equally because of the nature of people and the nature of the world, and the nature of people in the world.

So, you think that we have not evolved well enough?

Quoting Fire Ologist

I disagree people are by nature equal to each other. Quite the opposite, I believe all of us are each unique, and unequal. This is biology, psychology and theology.

Yes, we are different.

Quoting Fire Ologist

So depending on what you mean by “equality for humans”, and unless you are only talking politics, I likely disagree with you.

By equality, I mean that all members of humanity get what they deserve, opportunities, growth, and then delivering the fruit of the growth.

Quoting Fire Ologist

I don’t know what that means.

Morality is about realizing what is right to do, good, or evil, given the definition of good and evil in the OP.
180 Proof July 16, 2025 at 21:28 #1000885
Reply to Hanover Okay. You can't answer my question:

https://thephilosophyforum.com/discussion/comment/999752
AmadeusD July 17, 2025 at 01:34 #1000959
Reply to MoK This is entirely out of step with what's going on between us. I am saying that pain is not 'bad' because you're conflating suffering with pain. I am pointing out that problem.

Pain does not equal suffering.
MoK July 17, 2025 at 13:50 #1001040
Quoting AmadeusD

This is entirely out of step with what's going on between us. I am saying that pain is not 'bad' because you're conflating suffering with pain. I am pointing out that problem.

Yes, pain is not wrong/bad per se. That is discussed in the OP. And I am not conflating suffering with pain. Suffering and pain, however, are related; suffering is defined as the state of undergoing pain.
Athena July 18, 2025 at 17:50 #1001215
Quoting MoK
Two alignments get involved when it comes to morality, namely, good and evil. We can realize that something is good when it is pleasing, and in the same manner, we can realize that something is evil when the person is suffering. Good and evil creatures like pleasure and suffering, respectively, and dislike suffering and pleasure, respectively, as well. Morality, therefore, is about realizing what is right (what we should do, good or evil) and what is wrong/bad (what we should not do, good or evil). Humans are not perfect, judge or criminal, for example; therefore, we should leave room for their ignorance as well when it comes to justice. Justice is the ability to realize what the judge should command. The goal should be equality for humans.


What is evil other than a word? Like ignorance is an evil, but it doesn't always lead to suffering. Ignorance can be bliss.
MoK July 18, 2025 at 18:16 #1001219
Reply to Athena
How can ignorance be bliss?
AmadeusD July 21, 2025 at 22:53 #1001774
Reply to MoK This flies in the face of almost all of your responses, which are exactly in line with that description. I'll leave you to it.
MoK July 22, 2025 at 15:53 #1001930
Reply to AmadeusD
I don't think so! I would be happy to discuss the OP from the start if you are interested.
MrLiminal July 22, 2025 at 21:18 #1001992
Reply to MoK

What if a person derives pleasure from suffering or suffering from pleasure? I'm not sure this is complex enough a theory to account for the human condition.
Athena July 22, 2025 at 21:40 #1002000
Quoting MoK
How can ignorance be bliss?


AI says

"The saying "ignorance is bliss" suggests that not knowing certain things can lead to a more peaceful and worry-free state of mind."

Now add to this that there is a God who wants the best for you, and he will protect you and give you what you ask for. And he will do the same for all deserving people.

Now what can possibly go wrong?

MoK July 23, 2025 at 18:02 #1002168
Quoting MrLiminal

What if a person derives pleasure from suffering or suffering from pleasure?

Can you? The only thing that I am aware of is my mood change, from anger to happiness, for example. I am not denying that moods cannot be interrelated.

Quoting MrLiminal

I'm not sure this is complex enough a theory to account for the human condition.

I think it is.
MoK July 23, 2025 at 18:04 #1002169
Reply to Athena
Why do you think that God created us curious? There would be no humanity without curiosity.
MrLiminal July 23, 2025 at 18:12 #1002172
Reply to MoK

Sadists and masochists come to mind. Or the mixed feelings of things like nostalgia. I think you are oversimplifying human emotional range.
MoK July 23, 2025 at 18:19 #1002173
Quoting MrLiminal

Sadists and masochists come to mind. Or the mixed feelings of things like nostalgia. I think you are oversimplifying human emotional range.

A masochist, for example, is an evil creature. S/he likes evil. What do you mean by mixed feelings? To experience both good and evil? The basic ingredients of such a state are good and evil.
MrLiminal July 23, 2025 at 18:23 #1002175
Reply to MoK

Why would enjoying pain that is caused to you be evil?

And yes, nostalgia is inherently a mixed feeling. It is a longing for a past that combines both positive feelings for the memory and negative feelings for the loss. The current usage of the word has drifted somewhat.

People are complicated, emotions even more so. Also, not everything is reduceable to pure good or evil.
MoK July 23, 2025 at 18:29 #1002178
Quoting MrLiminal

Why would enjoying pain that is caused to you be evil?

I change your question slightly: Why would liking pain that is caused to you be evil? I distinguish between enjoying and liking. By liking, I mean you prefer something.
Athena August 05, 2025 at 04:16 #1005087
Reply to MoK Chimps and cats and other animals are curious. I don't think a God created humans. I think we evolved from an ape like animal and that we would make better decisions if we built our beliefs on science rather than mythology.
MoK August 05, 2025 at 17:55 #1005174
Quoting Athena

Chimps and cats and other animals are curious.

Correct. Curiosity is the fundamental aspect of life.

Quoting Athena

I don't think a God created humans. I think we evolved from an ape like animal and that we would make better decisions if we built our beliefs on science rather than mythology.

I have to say evolution is accepted as a scientific fact, but that does not mean that there is Divine intervention is not involved during the processes of evolution. That is true because physics is precise, but it is not exactly precise! Evolution is an imprecise discipline. So, there may be a slight change in the matter beyond the precision of physics. Consider that as fine-tuning Divine's intervention, which is necessary for the emergence of life. So, we cannot make a solid argument against Divine intervention when it comes to the philosophy of science!
night912 August 08, 2025 at 09:16 #1005670
I have to say evolution is accepted as a scientific fact, but that does not mean that there is Divine intervention is not involved during the processes of evolution. That is true because physics is precise, but it is not exactly precise! Evolution is an imprecise discipline. So, there may be a slight change in the matter beyond the precision of physics. Consider that as fine-tuning Divine's intervention, which is necessary for the emergence of life. So, we cannot make a solid argument against Divine intervention when it comes to the philosophy of science!
Reply to MoK

First of all, The Theory of Evolution says nothing about the emergence of life, that's abiogenesis, not evolution. Second, there's no need to try and come up with an argument against divine intervention when there's no sound argument and/or evidence for divine intervention. We should accept a hypothesis as a theory only when there is sufficient evidence to support it. Lastly, if we don't currently know something, in regards to physics, then our conclusion should be, "we don't know." It's not, "we don't know, therefore, it's divine intervention." That's the philosophy of science.

BTW,
Not accepting a hypothesis does not necessarily mean that you accept it as being false/wrong.
MoK August 08, 2025 at 17:38 #1005732
Quoting night912

Second, there's no need to try and come up with an argument against divine intervention when there's no sound argument and/or evidence for divine intervention.

I have an argument for the Mind is the cause of change in physical that you can find it here.

Quoting night912

Lastly, if we don't currently know something, in regards to physics, then our conclusion should be, "we don't know." It's not, "we don't know, therefore, it's divine intervention." That's the philosophy of science.

Our instruments have certain precision, so it is not about whether we can say "We don't know". We can say this for sure: one cannot exclude the role of Divine intervention when it comes to life!
AmadeusD August 14, 2025 at 01:12 #1006892
Quoting MoK
one cannot exclude the role of Divine intervention when it comes to life!


Sure, as night pointed out, rejecting does not mean accepting it as false.

However, we can absolutely set it to one side until something even vaguely indicative comes along. So far, it hasn't, so we're almost behooved to set it to one side, currently. This has been the case for about 200 years, best I can tell. There's simply no good reason to continue entertaining it on current knowledge. Given that this is a culmination of moving away from Divine intervention as a reasonable hypothesis, the indication is that the more we know, the less likely it becomes to the point of almost assured falsity (not assured - almost assured).
MoK August 17, 2025 at 18:45 #1007853
Quoting AmadeusD

Sure, as night pointed out, rejecting does not mean accepting it as false.

I understand that. So he does not accept the hypothesis since?
AmadeusD August 17, 2025 at 20:09 #1007862
Reply to MoK I wouldn't speak for them. I reject it. I just don't know if its actually false. Thats all i can say, I think.
MoK August 17, 2025 at 20:23 #1007871
Reply to AmadeusD
Well, why do you reject it if you know it is actually false? I think we should consider all hypotheses unless we can show that some of them are false.
AmadeusD August 17, 2025 at 20:27 #1007873
Reply to MoK I assume you mean if I don't know.

Becauase there is absolutely no reason to entertain all comers. I will entertain theories with something (even a lick) of indication they might be true. Fairy stories do not fall into this category.
MoK August 17, 2025 at 20:29 #1007876
Reply to AmadeusD
But you cannot falsify that fairies are untrue, given that our instruments are not precise enough.
AmadeusD August 17, 2025 at 20:34 #1007878
Reply to MoK I agree, but we do not entertain the idea of fairies beyond stoned bonfire chats (which are great, do not get me wrong. I love delving into speculative stuff. But here on TPF that's not the bag, imo).
MoK August 17, 2025 at 20:47 #1007881
Reply to AmadeusD
I think that the idea of fairies is important when it comes to reality, since we cannot explain out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, etc., without them. There is one thread on NDE. There is another thread on what the soul is. That is all I am aware of. Perhaps there are more.
AmadeusD August 18, 2025 at 01:04 #1007937
Reply to MoK I think perhaps you're missing a few tricks. We can explain everything we currently know without fairies. NDEs, specifically, are a world away from requiring fairies. Unless by 'fairies' you just mean unexplained phenomena. Perhaps, but I still think you're giving it more than it's worth.
MoK August 18, 2025 at 15:59 #1008035
Quoting AmadeusD

NDEs, specifically, are a world away from requiring fairies.

NDE, to me, refers to the existence of something that experiences when even the brain is shut down. They seem to experience themselves in the form of a ghost as well. Once you accept a ghost as a real thing, a new world will open to you. What about spiritual reality?
AmadeusD August 18, 2025 at 20:19 #1008093
Reply to MoK I don't know what you want here? You've posited three things I think require more than just some wishful thinking to obtain.

THe brain is not entirely shut down during NDEs. That's why they are NDEs. It doesn't suggest much of anything but that the mind is powerful.

I also note fairies appeared nowhere in that?

What spiritual reality?
MoK August 18, 2025 at 20:39 #1008105
Quoting AmadeusD

The brain is not entirely shut down during NDEs. That's why they are NDEs. It doesn't suggest much of anything but that the mind is powerful.

NDE also occurs in cases in which the brain also shuts down according to researcher: "Near-death experiences (NDEs) are intensely vivid and often life-transforming experiences, many of which occur under extreme physiological conditions such as trauma, ceasing of brain activity, deep general anesthesia or cardiac arrest in which no awareness or sensory experiences should be possible according to the prevailing views in neuroscience."

Quoting AmadeusD

I also note fairies appeared nowhere in that?

Have you ever heard of DMT?

Quoting AmadeusD

What spiritual reality?

The reality that is hidden from our senses for some reason. The reality we cannot detect it by our instruments either, because they are very light.
AmadeusD August 18, 2025 at 20:47 #1008107
Reply to MoK

1. If brain activity entirely ceased, it could not be restarted. Vegetative states are not death. That's key.

2. I am extremely well-informed about DMT. I spent around 10 years intensely embedded in the communities relevant to it including helping to design research protocols, raising funds, public speaking, ceremony and much else besides..

3. I see, that's fair enough. I'm unsure there is anything interesting there. Infrared light isn't that myusterious, is it?
MoK August 19, 2025 at 13:20 #1008234
Quoting AmadeusD

1. If brain activity entirely ceased, it could not be restarted. Vegetative states are not death. That's key.

I am not an expert in this field, and I just report what an expert says. Perhaps @Sam26 can comment on this more.

Quoting AmadeusD

2. I am extremely well-informed about DMT. I spent around 10 years intensely embedded in the communities relevant to it including helping to design research protocols, raising funds, public speaking, ceremony and much else besides..

Oh, that is interesting. So, you used DMT. Have you ever used it in such a dosage to encounter the Elves mentioned in this video?

Quoting AmadeusD

3. I see, that's fair enough. I'm unsure there is anything interesting there.

Or perhaps something is interesting as it is mentioned in the above video. I am a schizophrenic, so I experience weird things all the time. Some of my experiences are interesting.
AmadeusD August 19, 2025 at 20:10 #1008276
Quoting MoK
I am not an expert in this field, and I just report what an expert says.


There is literally a surge of brain activity during NDEs, typically gamma waves. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4576755/ - this paper is a mishmash, and gives us almost nothing to move the field forward. It is someone employing wishful thinking - trying to lump together psychedelic experiences, NDEs and several other notions. These fall apart at the level of basic scrutiny, given the lack of homogenaiety in any of them.

Quoting MoK
h, that is interesting. So, you used DMT. Have you ever used it in such a dosage to encounter the Elves mentioned in this video?


I have. I have also spoken at length with Terence's brother Dennis, who is a friend. I have encountered entities. The Elves noted in this video appear in the reportage after Terence became popular. It is not likely, in any way, that these are actual entities. Dennis accepts this, for what that's worth. I have also encountered entities with Mescaline, Psilocybin and Salvia (I do not recommend the latter, at least smoked. It is meant to be chewed fresh).

Quoting MoK
Some of my experiences are interesting.


That's fair, but not what I was getting at - it is not interesting to the field. People hallucinate and image things. Wow. Yknow?
MoK August 20, 2025 at 13:18 #1008382
Quoting AmadeusD

There is literally a surge of brain activity during NDEs, typically gamma waves.

Do you know of any studies that support this?

Quoting AmadeusD

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4576755/ - this paper is a mishmash, and gives us almost nothing to move the field forward. It is someone employing wishful thinking - trying to lump together psychedelic experiences, NDEs and several other notions. These fall apart at the level of basic scrutiny, given the lack of homogenaiety in any of them.

Maybe.

Quoting AmadeusD

I have. I have also spoken at length with Terence's brother Dennis, who is a friend. I have encountered entities. The Elves noted in this video appear in the reportage after Terence became popular. It is not likely, in any way, that these are actual entities. Dennis accepts this, for what that's worth. I have also encountered entities with Mescaline, Psilocybin and Salvia (I do not recommend the latter, at least smoked. It is meant to be chewed fresh).

Oh, that is a lot of drugs! And, why do you think that your encounters are not referring to real entities?

Quoting AmadeusD

That's fair, but not what I was getting at - it is not interesting to the field. People hallucinate and image things. Wow. Yknow?

What is interesting in my experience is that my hallucinations are coherent—my conversations, my visions, my other experiences that I cannot explain with words. Therefore, I believe my experiences may refer to other beings, unless my subconscious mind is deceiving me.
Sam26 August 20, 2025 at 18:42 #1008443
Quoting MoK
I am not an expert in this field, and I just report what an expert says. Perhaps Sam26 can comment on this more.


I'm no expert on DMT. I've listened to many accounts of people who have taken DMT, so I have some knowledge. If I'm an expert in anything, it would be NDEs and Wittgenstein's OC. My expertise is very focused and limited. That said, I'm loath to call myself an expert in any subject.
MoK August 20, 2025 at 18:46 #1008446
Quoting Sam26

I'm no expert on DMT. I've listened to many accounts of people who have taken DMT, so I have some knowledge. If I'm an expert in anything, it would be NDEs and Wittgenstein's OC. My expertise is very focused and limited. That said, I'm loath to call myself an expert in any subject.

Cool. I am wondering if there is any brain activity during NDEs, or if there was at least one case in which there was no brain activity during the NDE.
Sam26 August 20, 2025 at 19:05 #1008448
Quoting MoK
I am wondering if there is any brain activity during NDEs, or if there was at least one case in which there was no brain activity during the NDE.


There is a classic example that I've given in my thread 'Evidence of Consciousness Surviving the Body.' It's about Pam Reynolds from Atlanta. You can look it up on YouTube, but some of the videos are old.

The following is a section of my book where I mention this case:

From Testimony to Knowledge: Evaluating Near-Death Experiences

Chapter 1: The Preliminaries

[i]In 1991, Pam Reynolds lay on an operating table at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, undergoing a rare “standstill” procedure to remove a life-threatening aneurysm near her brain stem. Surgeons stopped her heart, lowered her body temperature to 60°F, and drained blood from her brain. She was clinically dead, with no measurable brain activity; her eyes were taped shut, and her ears were plugged with speakers emitting 100-decibel clicks to monitor brain-stem function. Yet Pam later described rising above her body and observing the surgical team with extraordinary precision. She noted the bone saw’s peculiar shape, “like an electric toothbrush” with a groove for interchangeable blades, and saw the case containing spare blades. She heard a female voice say, “We have a problem, her arteries are too small,” followed by a discussion of trying the other side. She reported being drawn through a tunnel toward a light more brilliant than anything imaginable, yet not painful to perceive. There she encountered deceased relatives, including her grandmother and an uncle she had known only from photographs. They communicated without words: “It’s not your time. You must go back.

When surgeons later confirmed these details, the unusual design of the Midas Rex bone saw, the unexpected problem with her arteries requiring femoral access from the left side, and the exact words spoken, they were puzzled. Dr. Robert Spetzler, the renowned neurosurgeon who operated, admitted his bewilderment: “I don’t have an explanation for it. I don’t know how she can quote the conversation and see the instruments. These are things she shouldn’t have been able to experience.” He confirmed additional details that troubled him: Pam’s accurate description of the craniotomy drill’s unexpected pitch (a high D natural that bothered her musician’s ear) and the specific pattern in which they had shaved only the top portion of her head, leaving hair below for cosmetic reasons. “From a scientific perspective,” Spetzler concluded, “I don’t know how to explain it.”[/i]
MoK August 20, 2025 at 19:13 #1008451
Reply to Sam26
Many thanks. So, there was at least one case in which the person experiencing NDE had no brain activity. Case closed!
Sam26 August 20, 2025 at 19:15 #1008452
Reply to MoK One case isn't enough, but there are thousands of corroborated cases, and millions of NDE accounts across the globe. You'll have to read my book when it's released in a few months.
MoK August 20, 2025 at 19:18 #1008454
Quoting Sam26

One case isn't enough, but there are thousands of corroborated cases, and millions of NDE accounts across the globe. You'll have to read my book when it's released in a few months.

One case is enough if you want to discard the idea that the experience arises from brain activity.
Sam26 August 20, 2025 at 19:35 #1008460
Reply to MoK My point is that one case isn't going to be enough to convince materialists that consciousness isn't a product of the brain. In other words, it doesn't originate in the brain.
MoK August 20, 2025 at 19:37 #1008461
Reply to Sam26
You need many affirmations to tell a theory is correct. One negation, however, tells that the theory is incorrect.
AmadeusD August 25, 2025 at 20:38 #1009439
Reply to MoK Yes, I do. One of several related works.

I agree, maybe. But I think it's likely, rather than a coin toss.

Quoting MoK
And, why do you think that your encounters are not referring to real entities?


I am on drugs. What kind of logic is it that says you alter your consciousness in a way that reliably causes hallucination, yet you take hte entities as real?? Seems utterly bizarre to think they are real without further.

Quoting MoK
What is interesting in my experience is that my hallucinations are coherent—my conversations, my visions, my other experiences that I cannot explain with words. Therefore, I believe my experiences may refer to other beings, unless my subconscious mind is deceiving me.


Your imagination is also coherent. This is an absolute nothing in terms of supporting a view that they might be real entites. I have full-blown conversations with my dead dog in my dreams sometimes.

I've actually had one dream where i was with Graham Hancock on a vine-covered river cruiser speaking at length about the possibility that psilocybin mushrooms graduated through ancient Welsh ceremony to the Druids. Two days later, I fell asleep and hte dream picked up in the exact same place. I was able to report hte entire conversation. This simply means my mind is agile.
MoK August 26, 2025 at 16:59 #1009638
Quoting AmadeusD

I am on drugs. What kind of logic is it that says you alter your consciousness in a way that reliably causes hallucination, yet you take hte entities as real?? Seems utterly bizarre to think they are real without further.

Did the entities you encountered show any sign of intelligence? If yes, why are you discarding them as unreal? I have never used DMT, but if I had a chance, I would ask questions I don't have answers for to check whether these entities are real intelligent entities or just mere hallucinations.

Quoting AmadeusD

I've actually had one dream where i was with Graham Hancock on a vine-covered river cruiser speaking at length about the possibility that psilocybin mushrooms graduated through ancient Welsh ceremony to the Druids. Two days later, I fell asleep and hte dream picked up in the exact same place. I was able to report hte entire conversation. This simply means my mind is agile.

How do you define mind?
AmadeusD August 26, 2025 at 20:05 #1009666
Quoting MoK
If yes, why are you discarding them as unreal?


Because I am intelligent, and it is occurring inside my head. There is nothing to be explained. We understand how this occurs. We create entities constantly. Taking drugs just makes it easier. I cannot understand the question, in some sense, because it seems to reverse the general course of assessment.

Quoting MoK
How do you define mind?


Mental faculties, collectively.
MoK August 27, 2025 at 18:28 #1009966
Quoting AmadeusD

Because I am intelligent, and it is occurring inside my head.

Are you saying what you experience is made by you, yet you are not aware of how you make these experiences? That is a very odd position.

Quoting AmadeusD

I cannot understand the question, in some sense, because it seems to reverse the general course of assessment.

I mean, if they are intelligent entities and can answer questions and continue conversations, etc., then why do you consider them to be unreal? There must be other real entities if they answer your questions, since you don't have answers to your questions. I cannot imagine how you could make these entities in your head, answering your question while you don't know the answers.
AmadeusD August 27, 2025 at 19:37 #1009981
Quoting MoK
Are you saying what you experience is made by you, yet you are not aware of how you make these experiences? That is a very odd position.


This is exactly wrong. You don't know how you produce your every-day experiences, let alone hallucinations. There is simply zero reason to entertain hte idea that these entities are real beyond my mind's creation. It is not an odd position in any sense of that word.

Quoting MoK
I cannot imagine how you could make these entities in your head, answering your question while you don't know the answers.


There has never been any evidence that this has occurred. That you can access your pre-conscious when in an altered state is very well understood.

Quoting MoK
There must be other real entities if they answer your questions, since you don't have answers to your questions


Which makes this, also, exactly wrong.
MoK August 28, 2025 at 15:51 #1010163
Quoting AmadeusD

This is exactly wrong. You don't know how you produce your every-day experiences, let alone hallucinations. There is simply zero reason to entertain hte idea that these entities are real beyond my mind's creation. It is not an odd position in any sense of that word.

So, you are saying that you create those entities with your mind?

Quoting AmadeusD

There has never been any evidence that this has occurred.

But the guy in the video mentioned intelligence in entities he encountered.

Quoting AmadeusD

That you can access your pre-conscious when in an altered state is very well understood.

I don't know about that. Do you mind elaborating?

Quoting AmadeusD

Which makes this, also, exactly wrong.

Why?


AmadeusD August 28, 2025 at 20:03 #1010221
Quoting MoK
So, you are saying that you create those entities with your mind?


Yes, and that's the general consensus because we already create entities in our minds, in waking and sleeping consciousness. There is literally zero reason to think otherwise with drug use. Particularly as most of these drugs use either neurotransmitters themselves, or analogs thereof.

Quoting MoK
But the guy in the video mentioned intelligence in entities he encountered.


I could tlel you that Jesus spoke to me in a dream and told me 9/11 would happen a week before it did. Big whoopee.

Quoting MoK
I don't know about that. Do you mind elaborating?


Psychedelics reduce blood flood in many areas including the anterior cingulate cortex and hte amygdala. These have to do with emotional processing and "pre-recorded" responses. When these are dampened, we get access to thoughts we usually don't have access to, and information we usually don't want to see. This is why they are so good for exposure therapy - it helps drag up pre-conscious thoughts and ideas which, if understood, would allow us to transmute pain and trauma into better things. Note: Salvia doesn't fucking do this lmaooo. It hits an opioid receptor.

Quoting MoK
Why?


You do have answers to your questions. That's logically deducible from the facts at hand: You are the only person around. You answer your own questions. Presto!
MoK August 29, 2025 at 15:22 #1010380
Quoting AmadeusD

I could tlel you that Jesus spoke to me in a dream and told me 9/11 would happen a week before it did. Big whoopee.

Really? And you think that Jesus is made in your mind, too?

Quoting AmadeusD

You do have answers to your questions. That's logically deducible from the facts at hand: You are the only person around. You answer your own questions. Presto!

I would say that you get access to the content of the subconscious mind when you are on a drug.
AmadeusD September 01, 2025 at 19:56 #1011003
Quoting MoK
Really? And you think that Jesus is made in your mind, too?


It depends exactly what you're asking - Jesus was created in someone's mind (at least, the character Jesus - I am alive to the fact that there was, most likely, an historical Jesus too - lets not split hairs. I certainly didn't know that guy). When I imagine Jesus, that is a self-created image. So, in my scenario, I have created the Jesus and more than likely created everything he utters too. Its not out of the question that my mind would import actual claimed utterances of Christ given I am 30-ish years deep into being acutely aware of those claims and claimed utterances.

Did I invent Jesus? No. Do I create an image of, and fill-in the character of Jesus whenever I personally imagine that character? Yes, definitely.

Quoting MoK
I would say that you get access to the content of the subconscious mind when you are on a drug.


That does not seem possible. The subconscious is not thought to be accessible. The pre-conscious, however, is. If that's all you meant, then I agree, but the chances that you can access anything you've not, at some stage, consciously come into contact with, is next to zero. I'm open, but no one's ever been able to show that they've gained information they couldn't have had previously on psychedelics. Despite claims of such.
MoK September 02, 2025 at 16:52 #1011113
Quoting AmadeusD

That does not seem possible. The subconscious is not thought to be accessible. The pre-conscious, however, is. If that's all you meant, then I agree, but the chances that you can access anything you've not, at some stage, consciously come into contact with, is next to zero. I'm open, but no one's ever been able to show that they've gained information they couldn't have had previously on psychedelics. Despite claims of such.

When it comes to the conscious mind, preconsciousness is a term that refers to the accumulation of data in the conscious mind. If the data is proper, then a chain of thought is generated by the conscious mind. The conscious mind has an important duty: processing the delivered data very fast. The conscious mind has a very limited memory; this memory is registered for important topics only. But if you read what I wrote once more carefully, you will then realize that the conscious mind cannot do its job without a perfect intervention of the subconscious mind. You work on a topic given the limited related data, finish the job by creating a new idea, and then the conscious mind is done and stays silent. That is what you are, the conscious mind. Like it or not, without the subconscious mind, you can do very limiting things. There would be no long stream of thoughts, no long stream of words, no communication, etc. The subconscious mind is huge. It has access to all the ideas generated by the conscious mind. It also knows what kind of data might be relevant when it comes to processing the data, which might lead to the creation of a new idea. I think you at least face the subconscious mind when you are on the drug! What do you expect to find? Wonder!
AmadeusD September 26, 2025 at 01:24 #1015108
Reply to MoK I can't see this relating to my response much at all.

The preconscious and subconscious are not hte same. The subconscious cannot be made conscious, is hte position of those in the field. That is with whom you should argue that point. The preconscious does what you're describing, as best I can tell.

But, you'll note, none of this butters bread for psychonaughts trying to claim they hav retrieved previously-unknown information.
MoK September 28, 2025 at 17:14 #1015488
Quoting AmadeusD

The preconscious and subconscious are not hte same. The subconscious cannot be made conscious, is hte position of those in the field. That is with whom you should argue that point. The preconscious does what you're describing, as best I can tell.

I see and I agree.

Quoting AmadeusD

But, you'll note, none of this butters bread for psychonaughts trying to claim they hav retrieved previously-unknown information.

However, in this video, Terence mentioned that he had conversations with entities he encountered. He clearly mentioned that entities answered questions as well.
AmadeusD October 02, 2025 at 19:26 #1016065
Reply to MoK He spent his life trying to prove this. He could not. Dennis (his brother - a friend of mine) has been quite clear about this since Terence died.
He was never able to procure information previously unavailable to him.

That said, I, more than anyone on this forum is seems, will be sympathetic to any Terence you bring up. He was probably hte best extemporaneous speaker i've ever seen.
MoK October 02, 2025 at 21:17 #1016091
Reply to AmadeusD
Oh, I see. Thanks for the information.
Outlander October 02, 2025 at 21:24 #1016093
Quoting AmadeusD
The subconscious cannot be made conscious


It cannot, therefore ever, perhaps at least once (or even reliably and constantly), be triggered by a static and consistent means?

So, Pavlov's theory is just generational mass hysteria, then? No, of course not.

Point being, it can reliably be "drawn out" to the point it becomes clear as day to another observer, if that observer is tact enough. And if that is true, which it is, it means one can clearly, with discernment and skill, draw it out one's self. How could it not?

Otherwise, why even suggest it even exists in the first place? Why not say there's a "superconscious" that's just a giant dinosaur rampaging through the streets of New York that one can never interact with inside the mind of each and every one of us, while we're at it.

It was defined and coined for a reason, that reason being because it is in fact detectable, and so can in fact be made conscious. Perhaps it's difficult. Impossible by one's self. But that's no rhyme or reason to call a thing imperceptible.
AmadeusD October 03, 2025 at 04:54 #1016144
Quoting Outlander
It cannot, therefore ever, perhaps at least once (or even reliably and constantly), be triggered by a static and consistent means?


My understanding is that it is point-blank not accessible. The pre-conscious is what you are describing. based on two Princeton MOOCs i took.



Not exhaustive, but this explains what I mean. I can't really understand the more silly aspects of this response (but I do note that was their point lol)
Outlander October 03, 2025 at 11:02 #1016162
Quoting AmadeusD
My understanding is that it is point-blank not accessible.


Thank you for the video. I plan to watch it when I get the chance.

My question would be: How do we know it even exists, then? Specifically if, presumably it cannot ever be made conscious, doesn't that mean it can't ever be observed or proven to exist?

The point of the silly example was to ask the further question: If the unconscious is real, how do we know something deeper doesn't exist? And then something even deeper than that? How do we know there aren't layers beyond the layer we assume to be the deepest if nothing other than the conscious and pre-conscious can ever be detected or otherwise observed?
AmadeusD October 07, 2025 at 19:09 #1016990
Quoting Outlander
The point of the silly example was to ask the further question: If the unconscious is real, how do we know something deeper doesn't exist? And then something even deeper than that? How do we know there aren't layers beyond the layer we assume to be the deepest if nothing other than the conscious and pre-conscious can ever be detected or otherwise observed?


I'll in reverse. Yeah, this is a good point. I think most in the field tend to seek something indicating that there is somethign further. Although essentially debunked since, Benjamin Libet's for example gave an indication that mentation must be happening prior to conscious awareness of it. That gives a logical reason to presume some mental 'area' below the level of that which is conscious. I don't think we've seen any good reason to presume something 'below' the subconscious.

To your question: My understanding is that the reason we posit a subconscious is little, otherwise-unexplainable (this isn't airtight, just hte argument as it goes) appearances of emotions, desires and behaviours that indicate same. You might slip when greeting your crush and say something slightly more flirty, and not know why you did it. It might take you a long time to realise you are crushing on this person. And that might only happen when your pre-conscious processes a memory like that slip-up and analysses it via introspection. I suppose this could be said to be an avenue for making it 'conscious' but there's a stop-gap where no contact between sub-and-actual consciousness occurs.

Again, not an analyst myself - just an understanding I have :)