Protestantism

» paper_turtle - Instinct

Phil wrote:
As human beings, we are limited--completely--ot whtever comes into us from our environment. And, how and what we choose is limited to the knowledge we gain from that input.
.
Well, in terms of every day experience, yes. But unless you define "environment" very broadly this doesn't explain how (for instance) a psychic can describe a killer in a crime which was not witnessed--sometimes even from hundreds of miles away.

Is there some instinct built into our genetic makeup?
.
I define instinct as built-in responses to help us survive, such as the fight or flight response. Some psychologists believe that fear of snakes is instinctive rather than taught.
.
Do we have the ability to create concepts outside of our knowledge?
.
There is a tribe in Africa which has as its insignia the depiction of a formation of stars. According to their creation myth, this star formation played a significant role in their origins. Only a few years ago scientists discovered, to their surprise, that this star formation actially exists.
.
Other primitive peoples have possed knowledge about things they "shouldn't" have known about, for one reason or another. But they knew, nonetheless.
.
The van Lommel article talks about universal mind. Jungian psychology also believes in this. *If* we have the ability, in dreams or meditations, to access universal mind, we can know things beyond our normal limits of knowing.
.
peace and love,
Paper Turtle

-- posted by paper_turtle