Essentialism

Merry Meet, Fire Phoenix here with some brain food.

Essentialism is an intresting philosophy that, like many other philosophy's, encourages a certain section of thought. That section is often the part we dont use my in our day to day discourse.

You have before you an armoured tank. You have employed a group of mechanics to take apart the tank bit by bit. First they take off the front gun, is it still a tank? yes, it is still recognisable as a tank, next they take off the rotor tracts, and even with this missing, it sill can be recognisable as a tank, next they take the body apart, but even in its skeletal form, it is still definable as a tank. Next they remove the frame, dismantle the engine until all is left istwo parralel trips of metal lying on the ground, the tank is no longer recognisable as a tank. The point is there must have been a moment when the tank went from being recognisable as a tank, to NOT being recognisable as a tank during the dismantling process. This is the concept of Essentialism.

Then what makes us US? What could be take away from us and still be definable as HUMAN? and what could we take away and suddenly we are not definable as human, this can also be applied to our personality, spirituality and mentality.

Anything that does not define us, or defines the tank as a tank, is called an incidental attribute, that which defines the tank or us, is an essential attribute.

So, from a spiritual, pagan perspective, what are YOUR Incidental attributes, and what are YOUR essential attributes.

Discuss!

BB

this wuold vary depending on who sees it.
to remove thoughts and feelings from a human still enables us to see him/her as a human, so that could be remved i guess...

yet if i had my skin shreaded off and even had bones anf little muscle holding it in place, or even something mechanical... and still have the same thoughts and feelings, i would probably not be considered human.
i probably wouldnt anyway

there is a song that this reminds me of - new flesh by grendel

Quote :

devoid of a soul
begining of the new flesh
unyeilding corpse
begining of the new flesh

the notion that nature can be calculated
inevitably leads to the conclusion
that humans too can be reduced to
basic mechanical parts