Sara K’s Reviews > The Meaning of Human Existence > Status Update

“So does free will exist? Yes, if not in ultimate reality then at least in the operational sense necessary for sanity and thereby for the perpetuation of the human species.”

“So does free will exist? Yes, if not in ultimate reality then at least in the operational sense necessary for sanity and thereby for the perpetuation of the human species.”

“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as wise.”

“...people in particular are rules by what psychologists call prepared learning. What is inherited is he likelihood of learning one or a few alternative behaviors out of many possible. The strongest among the biased behaviors are shared across all cultures, even when they seem irrational and there are plenty of opportunities to make other choices.”

“Our limited chemosensory skills have profound implications for our relation to the rest of life. So on the side I feel obligated to ask, if flies and scorpions sang as sweetly as songbirds, might we dislike them less?”

“With more and more decision making and work done by robots, what will be left for humans to do? Do we really want to compete biologically with robot technology by using brain implants and genetically improved intelligence and social behavior?”

“Human existence may be simpler than we thought. There is no predestination, no unfathomed mystery of life. Demons and gods do not vie for our allegiance. Instead, we are self-made, independent, alone, and fragile, a biological species adapted to live in a biological world. What counts for long term survival is intelligent self- understanding”

“Human existence may be simpler than we thought. There is no predestination, no unfathomed mystery of life. Demons and gods do not vie for our allegiance. Instead, we are self-made, independent, alone, and fragile, a biological species adapted to live in a biological world. What counts for long term survival is intelligent self- understanding”