What is Nature?

[I drank what?]

...

 

[Mocking You]

Here's where this thread has gone:


Is it natural for a human mother to eat her offspring?
that sound about right?
the or's depending on what context you're using it in... perhaps?
so there is no death or random things in nature?
nature has laws??
or nature makes laws??? make up your mind
is it both, one, the other, neither???
i see dead things everyday, are they not a part of Nature...?
rocks don't have life, are they a part of Nature??
monkeys beating their chest is Nature?
have you attempted to talk to me?
give a try, who knows you might even learn something...?
can't have life w/o death?
what makes you think Nature was designed?
so if something is boring it doesn't qualify as a quality or characteristic of said thing?
Damian? "old-fashioned"??
or merely troubled by the Nature of questions themselves?
If you knew it was going to happen, why are you acting surprised? also if you have the gift of prophecy can you tell me what my winning lotto numbers are?
do you need more time? perhaps you'd like to phone a friend or poll the audience??
someone else take a stab at it for her?
Humans are not physical?
btw, are there other worlds than physical?
therefore there is no Nature..???
should we take a vote?
are you able to do these things without Physical objects?
1. Is it a physical phenomenon for moms to eat their babies?
2. Is it an inherent property for moms to eat their babies?
is there any significant difference between these contexts, if so what?
i.e. are inherent properties non-physical??
Which part of Nature does the 'soul' fall under?
would it help if you defined Nature, BEFORE you start describing, categorizing it...?
and who is said punk?
and does the "baiting" bit suggest that we have a troll in our midst?
is it you?
have you seen the Matrix (movie)?

Why would we ruin such a beautiful thing with 15+ pages of boring old questions...?

Yes, why?

 

[I drank what?]

...

 

[chrysostom]

Is it natural for a non-human mother to eat her offspring?

and science has reported that animal mothers are prone to eating their young from time to time, then the answer is YES

that is certainly true with rabbits
and
the only problem with that
is
they don't eat enough of them

 

[The Barbarian]

Dictionary
nature

noun na·ture \ˈnā-chər\

: the physical world and everything in it (such as plants, animals, mountains, oceans, stars, etc.) that is not made by people

And we have a winner.

 

[PureX]

Dictionary
nature

noun na·ture \ˈnā-chər\

: the physical world and everything in it (such as plants, animals, mountains, oceans, stars, etc.) that is not made by people.

And we have a winner.

Didn't people make the definition?

to perceive a mountain is to delineate in our minds, label it "mountain", and then presume it to be "natural".

I understand the definition, but philosophically, it's not that simple.

 

[The Barbarian]

Didn't people make the definition?

Yes. Words mean what usage makes them mean. Most of the confusion comes from words that have both common and technical meanings.

And yes, philosophically, it's not that simple. Epistemology always gives me headaches.

 

[PureX]

Epistemology always gives me headaches.

I agree, and yet that seems to always be where I find the most fascinating realizations. Things are never what I assume them to be, once I consider them more thoroughly.

 

[I drank what?]

...

 

[I drank what?]

...

 

[PureX]

i'm still waiting to hear why plants, animals, etc.. are a part of Nature, but Man is not?

Who asserted that? The above definition only asserted a difference between things "man-made", and things not man made. Yet even that overlooks the fact that man doesn't "make" anything, but just defines and rearranges that which already exists.

i'm so confused

Perhaps if you 'listened' more, and 'spoke' less ...

also what about non-physical things?

Yes, there is a physical realm, and a conceptual realm transcending the physical realm. It does certainly complicate matters. :chuckle:

i can't help but notice everyone keeps equating Physical Universe = Nature

and yet most people's definition includes Human Nature, which last time i checked cannot be quantified into physical terms-objects

this doesn't feel like progress

They are intertwined; in that human nature is to a large degree being dictated by our biological (material) infrastructure. And yet it's also determined a good bit by circumstance, by chance, by desire, and likely by some as yet unrecognized factors.

But it takes some effort and some courage to face this tangled reality that we call ourselves. So people tend to just oversimplify and move on.

 

[chrysostom]

i'm still waiting to hear why plants, animals, etc.. are a part of Nature, but Man is not?

free will

man can defy natural law

 

[The Barbarian]

so then anything man-made is unnatural?

like pancakes, GMOs, or anything ever touched by a human being?

if i plant a tree, is it man made?

what if i create a river?

also what about non-physical things? are they unnatural?

By convention, anything humans do is labeled artificial as opposed to natural. But you have a point.

 

[chrysostom]

free will

man can defy natural law

By convention, anything humans do is labeled artificial as opposed to natural. But you have a point.

I said it first
and
I did a better job doing it

 

[I drank what?]

...

 

[chrysostom]

i don't think that's how free will works...

you seem to be presuming that free will is not a part of nature

that is how free will works
and
it is not part of nature

make your argument
if
you have one

 

[Town Heretic]

He's nodding so let me take a shot at it...

i don't think that's how free will works...

you seem to be presuming that free will is not a part of nature

:think: Find me an animal that abstains from procreation given the impulse and opportunity and that conversation will have an interesting beginning.

have you tried not jumping off the bridge? just because all of your friends are doing it

No, but I once leaped from the Flora-Bama bridge (the old one) to see if any of my own would. As it turns out, one did, an eventual Marine Gunny.

 

[The Barbarian]

Barbarian observes:
By convention, anything humans do is labeled artificial as opposed to natural. But you have a point.

Chrys objects:

I said it first
and
I did a better job doing it

No. And it wouldn't matter if you did. What person here believes anything you say?

 

[rainee]

Is it natural for a human mother to eat her offspring?

define Nature in this context...

I have a question too.
Why haven't you been suspended yet?

I don't mean for putting that up there - but because of your nature
that must make you put things like that up there?

 

[rainee]

No, but I once leaped from the Flora-Bama bridge (the old one) to see if any of my own would. As it turns out, one did, an eventual Marine Gunny.

:jawdrop:

You know they say this kind of behavior may be why men do not live as long as females...