Are we biological robots?

[Someone here]

Our knowledge in the fields of biology and medicine are quite vast. We know quite well what we are on a physical level.. and I suppose we could define ourselves as “biological robots” in a very broad sense (Collins defines “A robot is a machine which is programmed to move and perform certain tasks automatically.”)

We indeed are machines made of organic micro-components (cells.. each being a programmable machine itself.. and we have recently learned how to read and edit their own code, the DNA). we can perform complex work.. and we can accept complex “programming” in the form of learning (our “firmware” is very limited compared to other animals.. but we make up the difference with a lot of “memory” and “computing power”). As to out ability to think and do mathematics and so forth. 

Look at the human brain.. Play with the neurotransmitters and you can fuck with your personality and you're changing your mind and mood just by affecting your dopamine and Serotonin levels. That goes to show how machine -like we are. 

For example.. Depression is caused by lack of dopamine and Serotonin in the brain.. And then cured by taking medications that work on as elevator for those chemicals... What does that tell you about how you work? Are you a biological machine? 

[freejoy]

Yeah we are kinda like machines but not exactly. We are kinda like liquid-machines.

We are mostly water.

We have fluidity to our movements. 

[Rilles]

Youre whatever you see yourself as.

[Someone here]

10 minutes ago, Rilles said:

Youre whatever you see yourself as.

Not quite. 

11 minutes ago, freejoy said:

Yeah we are kinda like machines but not exactly. 

What exactly distinguished us from machines? Do you think we have a non-physical component? 

[Gesundheit]

A human is basically a highly sophisticated robot. I mean looking at humans, that becomes very obvious. Not much difference between any human and a robot except the levels of sophistication. It's like we've been designed by even more sophisticated beings who possess higher intelligence than us. And so we are capable of designing crude humans in comparison to us. And in turn, robots also are capable of designing crude robots in comparison to them. I wonder if that's correct. And if it is, I wonder does it ever end?

[allislove]

36 minutes ago, Someone here said:

 Depression is caused by lack of dopamine and Serotonin in the brain.. And then cured by taking medications that work on as elevator for those chemicals... 

 

"The truth will set you free"

[Mason Riggle]

3 minutes ago, allislove said:

 

"The truth will set you free"

 

[Someone here]

16 minutes ago, Gesundheit said:

A human is basically a highly sophisticated robot. I mean looking at humans, that becomes very obvious. Not much difference between any human and a robot except the levels of sophistication. It's like we've been designed by even more sophisticated beings who possess higher intelligence than us. And so we are capable of designing crude humans in comparison to us. And in turn, robots also are capable of designing crude robots in comparison to them. I wonder if that's correct. And if it is, I wonder does it ever end?

How do know what we are. The whole of all life is a miracle and a great mystery. So maybe we are part of great alien experiments put here eons ago. Really no one knows how life got here. There are lots of questions but very few answers. Theory of evolution seems to go against that. We actually evolved from more primitive life forms.. Not designed by a higher power. Let aside that Aside from the crystal clear evolutionary evidence it is not possible to build a robot with human behavior or even rat behavior.

[freejoy]

39 minutes ago, Someone here said:

What exactly distinguished us from machines? Do you think we have a non-physical component? 

I guess it's our very sophisticated AI. Not sure one could call it ai maybe oi (organic intelligence) that gives rise to free will, or at least a free will within certain parameters.

Might be some kind of soul or some kind of intelligence that keeps us together. Like the etheric holding our feeling blueprint together for our next incarnation.

[allislove]

@Mason Riggle exactly 

[Gesundheit]

1 hour ago, Someone here said:

Theory of evolution seems to go against that. We actually evolved from more primitive life forms.. Not designed by a higher power.

Maybe evolution is the mechanism by which those higher beings decided to create us?

[Tim R]

6 hours ago, Someone here said:

Are you a biological machine? 

I am much, much more than only that. 

The question of "are you a biological machine" assumes that "I" = body. And yes, I am the body, but I'm a lot more.

[diamondpenguin]

The less conscious you are, the more of an asleep robot you are. Discipline yourself and you will take control of your pesky ego and the world. 

[integral]

From the rational reductionist point of you.

[4201]

 

12 hours ago, Someone here said:

We indeed are machines made of organic micro-components (cells.. each being a programmable machine itself.. and we have recently learned how to read and edit their own code, the DNA). we can perform complex work.. and we can accept complex “programming” in the form of learning (our “firmware” is very limited compared to other animals.. but we make up the difference with a lot of “memory” and “computing power”). As to out ability to think and do mathematics and so forth. 

The body is indeed a biological machine. But are you the body?

12 hours ago, Someone here said:

For example.. Depression is caused by lack of dopamine and Serotonin in the brain.. And then cured by taking medications that work on as elevator for those chemicals... 

How do you know it's not the other way around? Scientists identifies a lack of dopamine to depression, but how do you know it's not the depression that causes the lack of dopamine? What if terrible thoughts lead to low mood which lead to a lack of dopamine in the brain?
 

If I were a silly scientist, I could correlate obesity to lack of calcium in muscles. Indeed whenever you contract a muscle your body emits calcium which makes the muscle contract. Therefore people who don't use their muscles do not emit much calcium in their muscles.

Would I fix the obesity by forcing your muscles to contract though by injecting some form of muscle contraction drug though? Scientists can look at correlation but causality is always assumed. 

Edited April 2, 2021 by 4201

[Javfly33]

@Someone here That's the same as saying " Sadness is caused because of low energy and low mood". instead of actually looking deeper than that an observe that sadness was just the result of maybe your family member dying. AND after the sadness builds up there's low energy and low mood.

In the same way the neurotransmitters levels are just "representations" of a type of life and personality and habits. 

Answering your question: No, it doesn't seem we are biological robots. We can change stuff in our body and mind, and THEN the neurotransmitters levels will change.

Understand the chemical levels of your brain as the representation that can change anytime depending how you use your mind. Not the other way around.

[Javfly33]

@Someone here Contemplate the difference between "physical" and "not physical".

It's physical for you that which have an appearance and non-physical that which doesn't?

If then, what about seeing a person in a dream? It has an appearance, is the person's dreamed body physical?

What about hallucinations? If someone on a psychotic state hears an helicopter pursuing her, is that sound "real"? I mean it sounds just as fine, so I guess it is?

So what is "not real"? 

Consensus of the human? 

But how do we know that consensus is correct? After all the consensus in the past were that the earth was flat. And that God , something that we have never seen, existed.

 

[Someone here]

22 hours ago, Gesundheit said:

Maybe evolution is the mechanism by which those higher beings decided to create us?

There has been a lot of Sci-fi movies based on your Hypothesis. But.. even if some aliens created life on earth.. they didn't purposefully create humans. We evolved from much simpler organisms before us (on a large scale comparison). We do not know for sure where from the first genetic material came from. There are theories which states it came from outer space or it came from mars etc. But we have evidence now that supports that evolution is a 'thing' and we humans came after a very looooooooong porcess of evolution from the first formed life. May be we share our DNA with the superior species that you're talking about here, in some way.. but nobody 'created us as humans' and drop us here on earth from outer space.

21 hours ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

No, we do have a soul and spiritual essence that we can tap into. This is the authentic self

Proof? 

 

17 hours ago, Tim R said:

I am much, much more than only that. 

The question of "are you a biological machine" assumes that "I" = body. And yes, I am the body, but I'm a lot more.

What else are you? 

[Gesundheit]

5 minutes ago, Someone here said:

but nobody 'created us as humans' and drop us here on earth from outer space.

I didn't say that.

Although, now that you mention it, I'd like to introduce you to one way Abraham reached his conclusion that there's an external God who dropped us here. One of his biggest arguments is animals. He thought that the fact that we can tame and use animals was a huge indicator that God designed them for us in this manner so that we can make use of them, i.e. ride them, make clothes, milk them, etc...

I just thought this would be an interesting perspective to entertain.

[Someone here]

6 minutes ago, Gesundheit said:

I didn't say that.

Although, now that you mention it, I'd like to introduce you to one way Abraham reached his conclusion that there's an external God who dropped us here. One of his biggest arguments is animals. He thought that the fact that we can tame and use animals was a huge indicator that God designed them for us in this manner so that we can make use of them, i.e. ride them, make clothes, milk them, etc...

I just thought this would be an interesting perspective to entertain.