Could the essence not be a result of our evolutionary make up. Just as cancer is a consequence of biological malfunction. Maybe our imagination needs to fill in the blanks in our understanding.

I haven't had time to read all the responses above incase I lost the train of my own responses.......

I believe religion is a result of human imagination and the power of our brains.

Firstly to put language and words to such abstracts concepts and make them captivating to others to share that idea is so powerful. And taken for granted for 1000s of yrs.

Then I want to say that these ideas were adopted and used to grant power for the individual and chosen lineage......shamans or pharaohs...being earthly embodiment of these gods....and this type of religion lasted for many 1000s yrs. With whole prosperous civilisations based upon that model.

Yet these models had masses of downtrodden and unworthy. Life there was cheap.

So it is only logical that these masses imagined their own saviours and as they had no earthly resprestative with any power, no wonder more ephemeral saviours were imagined.

And eventually the masses won the war of attrition so the powerful quickly adopted these stories and quickly placed themselves in important positions to speak the good word of the Lord or his representative who was also surrounded in mystery.

And here we are 1000 yrs later still believing our first intelligent mushroom induced fantasies.

I think present AI is scary because of the amount of data and "experience" it can draw from is exponentially infinite. Whereas if a single human could draw upon that wealth of experience they truly would be an Oracle.

The main difference is the filters and requirements one puts all this data through. Currently humans do not have an accurate understanding of how all the data inputs we receive shape our individuality, let alone what is it to be senient.

So are feeble algorithms that mimick narrowly defined criteria to utilise the mass of data at the amazing speeds they can no way replicate the human understanding of alive. Which is why it seems futile or dangerous to give current AI enormous power of our lives and destiny.

If we can create AI that has the biological baggage that we obviously have can we truly trust their instantaneous and superior decision making.

Thank you all for taking that thought to places I never would have got to alone.

Ok. Thanks for your words and candour. I think we may have veered from my original focus but mostly because those view points are new to me.

I can more appreciate the viewpoint of Kant as described by Wayfarer.

I would like to thank all of you who have replied to me tonight. Thank you

Maybe my next question will be less mundane and more abstract but I am glad it will get some attention.

Ciao

thanks Philosophim
for your response. I have lots of stupid questions but I am still unsure as to this forums etiquette. Am I allowed to jump from one theme to another in the same chat?? I find I can make leaps from one question line to another depending upon the logic of the response. Is that allowed?

Hi Shawn, yes after I posted this I was concerned I was asking for some free psychotherapy.

I think possibly I was trying to gauge if my own indifference to events physically far from me about loss of life was the norm.

I'm not familiar with how quick to expect a response but please feel free to ridicule and mock my propositions

This was my first stab at a basic question

Basically is life cheap?? Or a wonderous miracle??

Thanks for that encouragement Vera Mont, where to start???

Ok.....

The value of a single human life?

I believe the individual experiences and safety of every individual on the planet is equal. And I strive for the safety and security of my own life and those immediately connected to me with a unwavering urge for my appreciation for life and it's right to exist.

And I believe that is universal.

Yet history and current international events repeatedly show me that is a disallusion.

My question is my desire and hope a naive wish nutired by modern society? Or should I look at history's lessons to prepare for the worst?

Apologies if my question is confusing.

Thanks

Gary.