Higher beings on earth

[Robbie_James_Francis]

Personally, I think it's entirely possible that higher beings exist in our world but we can't perceive them. An amoeba doesn't have a clue that we're here, but we are.

If the senses we have don't represent the full possibility for sentient beings, is it not possible that other beings exist on our world but we can't sense them?

I'm not arguing that they exist. just that they could do and we'd be none the wiser.

What reason do we have to believe that we're the most sentient beings on Earth?

 

[TeddyKGB]

Does it follow that these unperceivable-by-us beings are made of unperceivable stuff? And that neither do we perceive their effects on the rest of the perceivable stuff?

We don't perceive electrons per se, but we perceive consequences of their activity.

 

[Washington]

What reason do we have to believe that we're the most sentient beings on Earth?

Lack of evidence of anything else would be a good guess.

 

[acropolis]

It's possible there are higher-intelligence beings, but we would most likely be unable to recognize their behavior as intelligent.

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

Does it follow that these unperceivable-by-us beings are made of unperceivable stuff? And that neither do we perceive their effects on the rest of the perceivable stuff?

We don't perceive electrons per se, but we perceive consequences of their activity.

Good question...I hadn't thought of that. I suppose they would certainly be made of matter that is imperceivable to us. And unless unexplained phenomena could be the effects, I suppose we wouldn't be able to perceive their effects on what we can see.

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

Lack of evidence of anything else would be a good guess.

Oh, I'm definitely not positing these beings as likely, just wondering if there's a real reason (Occam's razor aside), to dismiss the possibility.

Just making sure I'm not going insane when everyone seems to disagree with me.

 

[TeddyKGB]

Good question...I hadn't thought of that. I suppose they would certainly be made of matter that is imperceivable to us. And unless unexplained phenomena could be the effects, I suppose we wouldn't be able to perceive their effects on what we can see.

I think that begs at least one question: What does it mean to say an effect is imperceptible in a world where other effects are perceptible?

 

[acropolis]

Even if there were perceptible effects, humans probably wouldn't recognize it as a higher intelligence. Something higher above us, in the same way we are higher than bacteria, for example, probably wouldn't have a useful way of communicating with humans in ways we would understand. We might not even be seen to be sentient at all, by their standards.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

Personally, I think it's entirely possible that higher beings exist in our world but we can't perceive them. An amoeba doesn't have a clue that we're here, but we are.

If the senses we have don't represent the full possibility for sentient beings, is it not possible that other beings exist on our world but we can't sense them?

I'm not arguing that they exist. just that they could do and we'd be none the wiser.

I don't think they exist, insofar walking among us on the Earth. If such beings existed, they would be unaffected by the Earth itself. That is, there is no reason to suppose that these undetectable entities (composed of dark matter/energy, I'd imagine) follow the same specific laws as us: they may view the Earth and us as indirectly as we view dark matter and energy.

What reason do we have to believe that we're the most sentient beings on Earth?

None. Though our dominance of the Earth seems to show that we are as adaptable as viruses, if that counts for anything.

EDIT: I also wonder if there's a working definition of 'sentient' and 'higher'.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Heya.

 

[elcapitan]

Personally, I think it's entirely possible that higher beings exist in our world but we can't perceive them. An amoeba doesn't have a clue that we're here, but we are.

If the senses we have don't represent the full possibility for sentient beings, is it not possible that other beings exist on our world but we can't sense them?

I'm not arguing that they exist. just that they could do and we'd be none the wiser.

What reason do we have to believe that we're the most sentient beings on Earth?

Yeah, I mean, there could be invisible pink unicorns roaming the earth and we'd never know.

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

Yeah, I mean, there could be invisible pink unicorns roaming the earth and we'd never know.

Absolutely. Although the Flying Spaghetti Monster is much more cute and cuddly.