Week Four/ Assigned Readings

I found the reading by Ken Wilber to be very insightful and purposeful. He was able combine the theories of consciousness into four quadrants that all interact with each other and can’t work justifiably if one of them is missing. He was able to describe to me that the four principals are derived from; intentional, behavioral, cultural and social backgrounds. It is also amazing how holons are individual and community oriented. I like how they are also divided into internal vs. external and intersubjective vs. interobjective. It all comes together and provides a good understanding for me. He hit it home for me when he was describing how one can’t give a good argument if one isn’t well studied in the matter being discussed. He showed me that you have to be open minded to different theories and be willing to accept them, partially or fully, to better your own knowledge.

I found the two readings about the Vegan and Hypothesis similar in context. It appears as though the author of “Why I Don’t Eat Faces” was a fan of the work of Francis Crick. They both described how neurons can interpret touch and pain. They describe how we interact with our environments and how we should react accordingly. They are similar in Cricks philosophy on how the mind works through this sense of sensory touch. We are conscious through our well being and everything that we interact with. I found them both be intriguing but I don’t see myself becoming a vegetarian anytime soon. I contribute this to the movie by Disney, “The Lion King.” We are all part of a circle of life and it comes full circle.