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Old 07-10-2007, 09:10 AM   #29 (permalink)
jaej
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If everything is pure chemical, what is imagination? Is imagination only a figment of my imagination? If its a state of mind, how do I have a state of mind from pure chemicals? How do I know that it is wrong to steal? Because I wouldn't want someone to do it to me? Why do I care if someone does it to me, I am a chemically activated machine, what implanted the knowledge into my chemicals that it is wrong to steal? What is stealing, and how is it immoral? Because the material belonged to me? How do my chemicals inform me of this? Why do they? Because my brain took a mental picture of the object and informed my cells, "if someone steals, go and inform the brain." But how do my chemicals know that what I am holding in my hand is mine? Because I payed for it? How do my chemicals imprint this information accordingly, knowing what I have and have not payed for?
While it's much more complicated than this, you're actually right for the most part.

Your problem is that you think imagination and awareness are some sort of god-inspired phenomonan, when they are actually just a series of chemical and electrical reactions. Chemicals don't decide, they just act and react. Those actions and reactions are what we call consciousness.

Morality. There is no universal morality. Most of it comes from respect for others and their rights, but it's also influenced largely from society. You, for instance, believe what you believe because you read it in a book. I, on the other hand, act the way I do out of respect for the rights of people, because they have the same rights to life and property and security that you and I do.
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