And the warm spring flowing under the Bayou attracting the Manatees in the winter. The tourists line up hoping to get a shot of the Sea Cows and I take pictures of them. They are stranger than the Manatees.

And, we haven't learned all the rules, as yet. Sometimes it seems as if we are being trifled with.

Carl:
Consciousness is like an atom. We know it's there, but we don't know where or actually what it's doing or how it's doing it.

Profchuck:
And yet, they persist.

My roller-coaster analogy.

Your assumption is correct. Just as I was writing that post, the Brandenburg Concertos came on and all of a sudden I was into Bach. Sorry about that. Glad you caught it.

Yes!

I assume you are talking about Chopin here.

deplorable me

True, but they have not the physical requirements...think of them as the "K" in R/K selection theory...resources are abundant to them so life is cheap...I would put them in Dog category as far as interactions and adaptation abilities myself.
Again, have no idea where that came from in relation to dolphins...maybe it was the new age left?!?!

If one can not identify and set goals to achieve, one can not establish morality, where morality is nothing more than the actions which (if followed) lead to goal achievement and immorality those actions which prevent goal achievement.

Very true. One can not appreciate the highs without also experiencing the lows.

I love thinking of "what would Ayn Rand think". I love her writings in "A to Z" and can't help but think she would think, she would reason and she would take the action she thought right. Just exactly like you are saying, without changing her mind and "blanking" out, she would be proud of her actions of choosing life.

Humans are simply the best equipped animal on the planet, with a balance of strength, intelligence, and instinct for social cooperation superior to our neighbor species. Every time someone makes a statement about some specific capability that is completely unique to humans, we discover that other species exhibit the same quality. We are not the only self aware animal, nor the only one capable of acts of sacrifice, charity, regret, or remorse. We're simply better at exhibiting those qualities than other animals.

We are stubborn, determined survivors, but we're also arrogant, which is our biggest flaw. Humans have a natural strain of narcissism that blinds us to danger and our tendency to make stupid mistakes.

If we can learn to subordinate our overblown sense of self importance and superiority, we just might stand a chance of continuing to survive for a long time.

Spring Bayou, Tarpon Springs, I was born and raised there. Something about that place and the fact that an underground river flows from Spring Bayou to Lake Tarpon, makes it kind of magical.

Way over a decade ago I listened to Rush Limbaugh make fun of the high intelligence mystique of dolphins. He was prepared with a sound effect as he asked if they had built anything, written any books or said anything noteworthy beyond~https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLfCc...

From the perspective of evolutionary science things that work succeed and things that don't work fail. In a constantly changing environment adaptability is crucial. Nature has no morals or objectives, just rules.

We have to remember that in many ways, life on Earth has been getting better and better. There is more wealth, and more respect for individuals, now world-wide than I think has ever been. I, too, fret about where we are headed. I, too, see problems. But population grows, longevity extends, wealth still grows a bit, and people in the free(ish) world mostly report being happy. Those are the prizes in general. For each of us, it is living and being happy. We should keep our eyes on the prize, and ignore a lot of the noise..

That short paragraph is a very nice read, Herb. Very well said.

There is something so powerful about sitting still and observing. I have learned so much just sitting with my mouth shut...haha...

Well said. We are indeed the ones to be deplored by the "enlightened" ones.

"Anyone that challenges the supremacy of the state is an enemy of the state. Such individuals are incorrigible and irredeemable and must be neutralized." Part of the dogma of liberal-progressive thought.

As far as we know, we are the only ones capable of self introspection, it's been suspected that maybe white whales and dolphins might also but I don't know where that came from.
We are the only one's, that have the ability to modify behavior willfully because it's the right thing to do... other living animals May do so only out of fear of consequence. That is not willful, it's instinctive and still unaware of the process.
All life is aware of it's environment but not aware that it is aware.

Or...the various beliefs (Amerind, Indian) that all life has a soul (consciousness). That the consciousness is the same in all life but can only manifest itself to the degree of the life's nervous system. Life is a vehicle for consciousness and consciousness can only perform to the vehicle's sophistication.

Consciousness is not a part of our DNA, it has to be earned, cherished and protected. It's fragile.
We might be most amazing, deserving of being chosen...if we can keep it.

Ref: "Life is common in creation but Conscious Life may very well be chosen".
The Fight for Conscious Human Life.

A longing for happiness or an admiration of beauty. I just was listening to the Goldberg Variations by Bach and it's a miracle. How does he get so much music out of just a solo piano?