> influences have caused us all to be wired, though similarly, not the
> same (Peter ain't Paul). The hardware and software are individual
> to each person, and possess individual differences. Furthermore,
> this structure is dynamic, not static, and changes throughout life,
> partially due to aging as that is genetically manifested, and partially
> due to the effects of each new experience upon the brain. The
> physical substrate of subjective experience is in each case unique
> to the individual and his/her existing situation; thus how can anyone
> maintain that the experiences themselves are not themselves equally
> unique?
I am not suggesting that they are ot unique, I am suggesting that they are mush more alike than not alike. A good
example for me would be musical instruments. All acoustical instruments, no matter how well tuned or made, sound a
little different. No two Pianos sound the same, an upright and grand sound quite different from one another, but the
basics are still the same, and the sound is always identifiable. Even two coins minted together are not exactly alike.
Humans are the same, my neurotransmitters work the same as yours, usually for similar reasons, I am build pretty close
to the same as you or anyone else. My experiences and such are different not because I am physically that much
different, but because my time and location are always different than anyone else's. My feeling that are outside of my
control - love, jealousy, possessiveness, joy, fear, have similar triggers as every other person on the planet, men more
so than women. Studies regarding the "smile" for instance, show that it is universal in humanity, along with
reproduction, territorial males, and more things than I can think of.
a few statements to clarify:
Each person is unique among people, but in the whole of things, we are interchangeable and similar in every way
Being similar in nature does not "devalue" existence/experience or pleasure from life - its just an observation.
There is simply an amount of variation in humanity that either functions, or does not - if not, Tim's Nazi pals, take
care of it for us. If so, they are probably not all that different from us.
Bill Roh