While watching an Anime the other night (free Starz! Preview--Ghost In The Shell) a thought occured to me that had nothing to do with the movie.
Cities and countries and the world are considered by some as giant organisms, and we are just the cells that inhabit them. Food and neccesities travel the roads and rivers and oceans of our world like blood though veins and arteries.
But we are more than cells. We "desire" three things that our cells do not.
We desire Information. We desire Entertainment. We desire Enlightenment.
By enlightenment I mean some spiritual or larger reasons for being. Whether this is Religion or Family or Truth or Science, there is a need in many of us to believe in something.
By "we" I do not mean all of us, though I think in some parts, these are universal desires.
There may be people who do not desire entertainment or diversion. There may be some who have no desire for enlightenment, or do not seek more information. However, where they lack in one of the three, they more than make up with a stronger desire for one of the others.
There seems to be a relationship betweens ones position in the organized hierarchy catering to one of these desires to try to control the access to these other desires for those below you.
In other words, some church leaders try to limit what information their believers recieve (especially in cult atmospheres). Others try to limit the Entertainment thier followers choose.
Similarly there is an argument that people in the "press" try to limit what religion their readers should practice.
I am not yet sure what all this means, but it is my strange thought for the day.
Posted by kaioshin00 (Member # 3740) on :
What about in countries where resources are scarce and people are just worried about surviving? Do they too want enlightment, entertanment, and information, or do they just want to find a way to live?
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
I think you hit on something....
Kind of like how the more poor you are the more entertainment you want...
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
I would say that desires for Information, Entertainment, and Enlightenment are all subsets of our quest for fulfillment, or joy. Everyone finds the mix that gives them, in their perception and in their current situation, the greatest fulfillment.
A cell is fulfilled by performing its function properly. We, however, all seem to need something more than just living and breathing to be fulfilled.
[ September 20, 2004, 05:06 PM: Message edited by: advice for robots ]
Posted by CStroman (Member # 6872) on :
quote:We desire Information. We desire Entertainment. We desire Enlightenment.
We also have the ability to REASON and make DECISIONS.
Something that those mentioned cannot.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
I like all three at the same time.... Entertainment just isn't enough. It's dull and stupid at times without the other 2 to give it depth and power.
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
Kaish--Yes, even the poorest of us want these things. They are desires, not needs, for we can survive without them. That doesn't stop us from wanting them.
Think of the old west. What was the first building to go up in a town? The Saloon. (which usually doubled as a general store)--Entertainment. As the town grew--The Church--Enlightenment. Finally--The Newspaper--Information.
Telp--yes.
AforR--I like the idea of Joy. There may be survival issues in it as well, but the Joy I recieve out of all three are real to me.
CStrom--My mind was running through a needs list, not a performance list when I came up with these three. Yes, we can reason independently (many of us.)
[ September 20, 2004, 05:22 PM: Message edited by: Dan_raven ]
Posted by advice for robots (Member # 2544) on :
How would you define the saloon, though? It was really the town’s first marketplace for information as well as entertainment. Plus, it offered community, which is a blend of all three desires.
Posted by kaioshin00 (Member # 3740) on :
quote: Kaish--Yes, even the poorest of us want these things. They are desires, not needs, for we can survive without them. That doesn't stop us from wanting them.
Kaish?? No one's ever called me that before. It's Kaio, shin, or kaioshin, but not Kaish...