Point of order here: What exactly constitutes a "false memory?" Seems to me if something is in memory, then it by definition is not false. It is there because it was generated from a real experience or perception.
In short, I take David Hume's analysis of the basic, fundamental constituents of human knowledge to be correct. He says that the origin of all our ideas, and thus of all human knowledge, rests ultimately on just three essential things: perception, memory, and experience.
So of course I'd be interested in ZC's insights into how memory becomes "false," or under what circumstances it can legitimately be said to be false.
It's a very narrow question. Perhaps ZC would regard it as an idle one. But we do have to dot all our epistemological "i's" and cross all our epistemological "t's"....
You wrote: "If God were to create false memories, and I am not saying that He did, they would be “real” to us." I too believe that would be the case. But I doubt God would do such a thing. For He is Truth, and so would not lie to us or cause us to be misled.
Sorry I've been so scarce around here lately, dearest sister in Christ! My computer is STILL in the shop, and I've been very limited in my ability to come on-line since last Tuesday.... Sigh.... I've missed out on some very interesting conversations!
Hopefully, my system will come home very soon.
Thank you ever so much for your outstanding essay/post!
Perceptsion can be very fickle . . . influenced by a variety of things besides the photons, soundwaves and pressures against the skin or mollecules in the nose.
Memory is even more fickle.
—Memory is influenced by past experience;
—Perceptual sets
—Emotional states
—Reference group’s stated perceptions and biases and in many case just folks who are nearby—their stated perceptions and biases.
—events just after the event being ‘remembered.’
etc. etc. etc.
All of that is why witness testimony is so often flawed and why 10 folks seeing the same accident from nearly the same perspective can sound like they were viewing 10 different accidents.
And that doesn’t even get into dreams, visions
and now . . .
technologies which project into the brain’s synapses via various wavelengths . . .
visual images, sounds, smells, conversations, scenes, events . . .
which never happened but will then be thought of by the victim as part of the history of their life experience.
The above is not tinfoil hat stuff. It is quite real.
The visions and dreams of Daniel and Ezekiel were . . . ‘downloads’ from God of future events in symbolic form and often enough in literal form—registering on the brains of the prophets as though they were seeing them more or less in front of their faces in real time on the terra firma of the Middle East.
By definition they were truth because they came from God-of-the-angel-armies—beyond-time even though they had not yet happened.
Prayers for your computer system. Still am interested in the Maitreya ping from another thread when it’s workable for you to get around to it.