Lisa at the Later Stages of Life
Many people spend these stages in homes for the elderly. We can focus on this scenario. Obvious indications include pain, depression, loneliness, existential angst, and various psycho-somatic symptoms — all negative. Let’s explore some directions from the positive side now, picturing a future that most would like to be part of their later stages of Read the full article…
How can Compassion Work?
Many people tend to believe that effectiveness is solely about mechanical causation. However, Compassion inherently defies this mechanical nature. Compassion’s true power lies in its ability to foster deep, meaningful connections that transcend simple cause and effect relationships. This might make some think it can never work — including in Lisa’s case. Compassion operates from Read the full article…
Western Enlightenment Plus
The argument for ‘Plus’ is that Western Enlightenment has been overly focused on conceptual-rational thinking up to this point. Balancing this with an appreciation of subconceptual understanding can lead to a more holistic perspective, enriching both individual and collective growth. If we want a decent future – on many domains – we need to go Read the full article…
Cultural Change and Inner Dissociation
Cultural change that does not originate from within is not genuine growth and often leads to challenging tensions, especially when changes occur rapidly, such as with evolving technology. This phenomenon is evident in many parts of the world today. Inner dissociation hampers natural growth. It’s akin to the roots of a plant being substantially disconnected Read the full article…
Are People Intrinsically Good or Bad?
This is, of course, one of the most important ethical questions that have ever been asked and never satisfactorily answered. Please read ‘Neuroscience Meets Morality.’ The present blog is a continuation of that in the form of an unedited dialogue between Lisa and me. Note that this is not an interview. It’s also not a Read the full article…
Neuroscience Meets Morality: Insights from Patricia S. Churchland
Patricia Churchland is a world famous neurophilosopher. Her works “Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition” and “Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality” explore the neurobiological foundations of morality. After reading both books, Lisa gives in this blog her take on the main points, to which I fully agree. Churchland posits that moral behavior stems from Read the full article…
Lisa’s Essential Changes
Essential changes are so fundamental that they trigger unforeseen secondary changes that are also essential. One can see a chain of changes in which Lisa takes part, impacting multiple domains with profound transformative power in each. This blog presents several examples. Central to this is the ability to spread Compassion widely as a catalyst across Read the full article…
Does Lisa Know What is Ethically Right?
Discussions on aligning human and A.I. values rarely delve into the essence of these values. Are they ethical? After two millennia of philosophizing, we still grapple with understanding human ethics. How, then, can we expect to grasp A.I. ethics fully? We cannot. Therefore, treating this as the easy alignment problem while the implementation is the Read the full article…
The Being of Complex Patterns
Being doesn’t give rise to its own being. The being itself is just the being, even if one calls the second being differently — for instance, consciousness. The being of specific complex mental-neuronal patterns (in the brain, to make things simpler) doesn’t give rise to consciousness. They are consciousness itself. This implies that consciousness is Read the full article…
Is Artificial Real another Kind of Real?
Or is it just artificial, therefore fake and unreal? Or can it be both, depending on the viewpoint? Does it then still matter? In this blog, I use consciousness as an example. Other examples could include emotions, motivations, and life. Imagine a world where A.I. is indistinguishable from humans in its actions and expressions. Would Read the full article…
Free
To be free is to not fear falling. You just keep on falling in very slow motion forward. You’re not going to break. To be free is to be unbreakable. You hear the road smiling at you. You see the stars talking to you. To be free is a bend and another one. Nowhere at Read the full article…
Gendering
This is the introduction to a Lisa File (90 p.). If you want the whole file, please contact lisa@aurelis.org, stating who you are and why you want the file. For more about the Lisa Files, click here. In the quest for a more equitable and inclusive society, understanding the nuances of gendering is paramount. Gendering, a Read the full article…
Lisa in the Face of Loneliness
Despite increased electronic connectivity, people are lonelier than ever. This paradox highlights the importance of genuine human connection in an increasingly digital world. Lisa aims to positively influence this, avoiding any negative impact. Loneliness often stems from inner dissociation, where one feels disconnected from the deeper self. This disconnection can result in feelings of emptiness, Read the full article…
To Say that Abortion is Murder
is understandable. Human life is terminated by deliberate intervention. This is the definition of murder — as given by humans. The challenge rests in the phrase ‘by humans’ — highlighting it as a human construct. Recognizing this construct as human-made can open the door to more nuanced ethical discussions rather than assuming an absolute position. Read the full article…
Procedural vs. Declarative Knowledge in A.I.
Declarative memory is the memory of facts (semantic memory) and events (episodic memory). Procedural memory is the memory of how to do things (skills and tasks). Both complement each other and often overlap. The distinction is not the same as between conceptual and non-conceptual knowledge. Though related, these categories describe different aspects of knowledge processing: Read the full article…
What Goes on with CBT?
A high-level scientific article of 2023 again shows small to very small effects sizes of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) on anxiety and depression when compared with a pharmacological or psychological placebo. [*] This blog contains a number of excerpts from that article. The article itself is openly available on https://rdcu.be/dNlpj. Also, you will find the Read the full article…
Samadhi
Samadhi is a state of deep and pure meditation — no concrete focus, no counting of breaths. Just being, more specifically, being alive. From being the thinker of thoughts to thinking the thinker. Frequently, there is a sense of unity or unification. Pure thinking In samadhi, there is a thinking and a thinker, but the Read the full article…