To give a little in the conversation Art & Peetster are having so far.
You can judge according to your mind only, but it will probably take much longer.
The horse that has blinders on, can know it’s surrounding environment,
However it requires much more effort, and movement to see those surroundings
than if it didn’t have it on, or someone else was leading him, thus helping in the perspective.
Everything depends on your definitions & contexts
Throughout life you’re are always biased by these, thus your answers are always limited.
Even the questions below are “interpreted” by the reading and the reader.
So are they being answered in the same way the writer intended?
Close maybe, but not absolute,
and the words which are always a limiting factor, they could be defined in multiple ways.
Some of these were difficult to answer, not because I didn’t have the intelligence,
But I wasn’t really sure was context was being asked
Certain assumptions are always made.
It goes back to one of my old favorite books quotes,
“The answer to Life, The Universe & Everything is 42”
but what is the Question?
How is it defined?
Now, for my immediate shot in the dark…
I will try to answer these from my own current viewpoints & experience.
1: What is the nature of the self?
Self is the acknowledgement of your own being.
2: What is the nature of the universe?
This has to exist, otherwise you have a void.
A void is irrelevant, thus the universe is in an existence of being.
3: What is the nature of consciousness?
“I think, therefore I am”, a classic statement not taken far enough.
These are the perceptions of self and the environment.
4: What are states of consciousness?
Since there are an infinite number of perceptions,
then there are an infinite number of conscious states & views.
5: How can one explore various states of consciousness?
By exploration, experience and as stated before…living.
Draw in as many different views as possible,
Intellectual, emotional & sensory are some of the aspects.
6: Can we achieve some personal understanding
of the ultimate philosophical questions?
There is no ultimate, no absolute,
there is only what we can possibly experience within a limited timeframe,
this is always biased upon the definitions given & drawn.
a. The ontological question: what is real?
My favorite quote is… “Reality is what is there, when you stop believing in it”
b. The epistemological question: how can we know what is real?
Only by the tools given us, and by validation of outside observations.
c. The ethical question: What is good?
Whatever is constructive, within an overall context.
Even destructive actions can be good in the greater view.
Of course, good can defined differently according to various aspects,
Such as social, physical, or emotional viewpoints
d. The (a)esthetic question: what is beautiful?
Beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder
It is up to the questioner to answer this, and this can change at any time.
There is no absolute.
e. The political question: How should we govern ourselves?
I’m assuming in a society context…in however benefits our group’s values
And the overall productive growth of your group.
7: What is the nature and purpose of life?
Beings are here to survive & experience.
If you don’t survive, then you are not here.
If you don’t experience, then you don’t grow.
Survival is for continuance,
Experience is for evolution.
8: What is the significance and meaning of death?
Death of life necessary for the continuance of evolution. (this can be scientific and/or spiritual)
If there was no death, there would be no renewal.
Not of self, but of the environment.