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Tuesday, October 31
View Article  What does the conceptual framework of modern science imply about the universe within which we live? Part I of II
by Daniel J. Shepard on Tue 31 Oct 2006 01:00 AM EST

What does the conceptual framework of modern science imply about the universe within which we live?

 

 

Part I of II

 

Modern science leads to the understanding that the universe is big,really big, in comparison to the human body.

 

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Size becomes an idea of our universe that we think we are beginning to understand.

 

We realize we are not the center of this huge quantity of space within which  we exist.

 

Space, in fact, appears so vast, we have a sense of loss in terms of understanding just where we are within it.

 

We don’t know where we are in the universe.

 

With this statement, questions come rushing in.

 

Where is the center of the universe?

 

How big is the universe?

 

Does the universe have a boundary?

 

Can we step through the boundary? Are we confined to the universe?

 

Are there other universes?

 

Are there parallel universes? Are there nonparallel universes?

 

Are there other life forms scattered throughout the universe?

 

Are there other life forms within other universes?

 

To be continued: Part II of II: Why do we...
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Monday, October 30
View Article  What significance do the Judaic concepts of monotheism and the soul have to other life forms in the universe? Part II of II
by Daniel J. Shepard on Mon 30 Oct 2006 12:10 AM EST

What significance do the Judaic concepts of monotheism and the soul have to other life forms in the universe?

 

Part II of II

...The manner in which we view other life forms in the heavens will determine how we treat these life forms.

 

Our past experience of human behavior and limited perceptions throughout our history should have taught us much.

 

Our atrocious treatment of the Incas, Mayans, Jews, Muslims, Christians, North American Indians, Serbs, noncommunists … goes on forever it seems.

 

And what of new life forms we may encounter in the heavens?

 

What about life forms which most probably will be entirely alien to our way of thinking and appearance?

 

We can only hope we will have a new understanding, a new perception of what life is, and what the significance of life means, before we encounter these new life forms in the heavens.

 

Without a new perception, life may once again be subjected to inhumane human behavior.

 

End
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Saturday, October 28
View Article  What significance do the Judaic concepts of monotheism and the soul have to other life forms in the universe? Part I of II
by Daniel J. Shepard on Sat 28 Oct 2006 01:00 AM EDT

What significance do the Judaic concepts of monotheism and the soul have to other life forms in the universe?

 

 

Part I of II

 

Monotheism implies a creation of the universe by one force.

 

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A Causative Force created the universe, not just the part of it humans exist within.

 

This suggests, or forces us, to acknowledge our uniqueness.

 

It forces us to demand respect for our uniqueness as a species.

 

At the same time, however, it leaves us no choice but to do the same for all other life forms, souls, we may encounter in the heavens, in the galaxy, in the universe.

 

This demand to respect our potential to contribute to a Causative Force so large the universe itself is immersed within it, opens up a whole new way of looking at our earth as an environment, of looking at ourselves as individuals, of looking at other humans with whom we interact, and of looking at other life forms we most probably will encounter as we travel the heavens themselves.

 

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The way we perceive other life forms we encounter as we travel the heavens will be of utmost importance to those life forms.

 

To be continued: Part II of II: The manner in which we view other life forms in the heavens will..
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Friday, October 27
View Article  What significance does Homo- have to us as a species? Part II of II
by Daniel J. Shepard on Fri 27 Oct 2006 01:00 AM EDT

What significance does Homo- have to us as a species?

 

Part II of II

...We may exist within the space of the universe, but we definitely think of ourselves as not being confined by space.

 

Take away space and we still see our essence as existing.

 

Take all awareness out of space and we still see space as existing.

 

We see the two, awareness and space, as two independent entities.

 

Unless we are willing to throw away what our faiths tell us, our observations point toward, and our rational arguments center around, we have no choice but to accept the concept that our genus is unique in some very basic way.

 

We appear to be the only life form on earth capable of connecting our existence to abstract existence.

 

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We, as the genus Homo, are about to leave the earth.

 

We can leave with one of two philosophies.

 

We can leave earth to subjugate and dominate in order to establish our kingdom as a species so that certain individuals may reign supreme.

 

Or we can leave earth to learn about the heavens and expand the Causative Force.

 

The first is more exciting but short-lived.

 

The second is more idealistic but projects further into the future

 

We have a responsibility to make this choice.

 

If we do not consciously make the choice, we will go into space as we are, a species oriented around animalistic, territorial behaviors, the first of the two philosophies.

 

End

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Thursday, October 26
View Article  What significance does Homo- have to us as a species? Part I of II
by Daniel J. Shepard on Thu 26 Oct 2006 01:00 AM EDT

What significance does Homo- have to us as a species?

 

 

Part I of II

 

Sapiens are the last remaining species of the genus Homo.

 

So in our case, if we allow our species to die, we are responsible for the death of our genus as well as the death of any unique contributions it had to offer what lies beyond the boundaries of the universe.

 

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The first type of existence, individuality, is offered two types of freedom.

 

First, our ability to think abstractly offers us the ability to think of ourselves as being independent, free of what lies beyond the universe and second, we have the ability to think of ourselves as being independent, free of the universe within which we are located.

 

We, as individuals and as a species, are immersed in the concept of freedom.

 

The rights of the individual, freedom of the individual, is one of the most sought after rights we have aspired to gain throughout our history.

 

This ability to think of freedom from being controlled either by a Causative Force or from the confinement of our universe appears to be generated by the unique ability of our genus, Homo, to think in an abstract manner.

 

This characteristic is not unique to one individual or a few individuals.

 

It is a characteristic of our species.

 

To be continued: Part II of II: We may exist within...
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