Re: How many of you are religious!
I would consider rules to be more basic than instinct, since an "instinct" is usually a conglomeration of rules. For example, take the instinct to run or fight when approached by a predator/aggressor; you detect the predator using your senses (which is taking each sensory input both individually and as combos) and then running these sense against a quick emotional background test (as memories are stored both by semantics (harder and slower to recall, decay much faster) and emotion (much longer lasting, very quick to recall) in the hippocampus and somtehstsrorother) as well as a battery of basic checks: is it approaching fast, what is its posture, is its smell friendly or unknown or of an enemy, what noise is it making, where are its eyes looking, etc..
Then these basic rule checks are then compiled and an instinct is performed. If it checks out to be a predator/aggressor, the animal runs a check comparing itself to the animal. Is it strong? Does it look crazed? Is there a chance for a pack to arrive? Are there children to care for? etc.
Then the instinct is performed, fight or flee.
Humans experience this too, which is why advertising is so very effective now. Instead of actually trying to convince you with reason and intelligence, they appeal to your emotional response with various things like physical attraction, beaches, sunlight, pretty faces, and so on. You may not want or need or like the item, but your initial response will be to feel good toward the advertisement, leaving a positive memory in your hippocampus toward that item thanks to your new emotional attachment.
Raping our minds through our rules of instinct.
And then we have conscious thought, which is more complex and much slower and at a loss versus emotion/reaction/etc.
Also, I have not seen Waking Life, though I have seen that one flick with Robin Williams called "What Dreams May Come." That was a very sad but interesting movie, really touched base on how your afterlife is how you yourself define it for yourself. Still, it was about an interactive one, but hey, no one's perfect
I've been wanting to see Waking Life, I just never get around to it :/ Is it similar, do you know?
Also, Ape, this isn't so much a debate anymore as it is a back-and-forth explanation of beliefs. I think it's a little more interesting that way