Re: Truth, essence and potential.


On Jul 17, 2006, at 10:44 AM, Kent Johnson wrote:

If the purpose of a tree is to give fruit, that purpose is the potential of
the seed. If the purpose of a tree is merely to give shade and firewood,
that potential is also in the seed. In either case the essence of the tree
is in the seed.

Implied in the word purpose, it seems, is the items use for humanity. The
purpose of an item is its use by humankind for the advancement of
civilization.

If the essence of an item is its potential and purpose, then I have no
problem with us saying the essence is greater than the sum of its parts.

--Kent

Kent-
I have yet another view of all this.
It may be true that we assign purpose to our natural resources such as trees but that does not necessarily mean what we assign is inherent in the essence of the seed for we also can misuse these resources for inhuman activities which is against our overall purpose of life.
I think we need to view the natural resources for what they contribute to our living the life as a human being and a living soul in seed form. I do not believe the misuse of a thing is inherent in its essence. The natural resources were created to assist us in our realization of our station of servitude. It is the misuse of these resources that causes us so many problems. We make a spear out of wood so we can hunt for food and then we turn it against ourselves in war. Therefor to me the use or misuse of an resource in inherent in the human being.

I do hope this won't get into the old argument about "guns don't kill, people do."

regards,
doug


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