Ahimsa: The Principle of Least Violence

When we see a cup from whether it’s a tea cup to a paper cup, to cups used for cupping, etc., we all feel a degree of sameness to everything. Think about it.

When we talk about similes and metaphors, we’re talking about one unnamed concept related to another. “My computer is running as slowly as a tortoise” uses the word “running” to indicate a degree of similarity to physical running, and tortoise-slow is another construct we have come to associate with it.

Essentially when we’re communicating we’re much less trying to give an exact dictionary definition that logically and rationally fits within a certain box, and we’re moreover trying to simulate another person’s neurons in a particular pattern that’s recognised in common.

When we talk about a “construct” we’re talking about a pointer to a neuron or cluster of neurons within our brain. Dictionary definitions exist to give a “feel” of that word rather than to create rigid boxes.

Then how can we ever agree on anything? Because through our interactions with other people we link neurons which are similar enough to each other, with each other, essentially we learn how certain concepts relate with each other. This common map that we create is what I call “the collective brain map”.

So essentially the answer to “what is anarchism?”, “what is a woman?”, “what is a bottle?”, “what is an automobile?”, etc., is that it is a space within the collective brain map. This is indeed what a “social construct” refers to. The collective brain map may be referred to as “culture”, in certain contexts.

Why does this mean anything? Think about it. By simulating proximate neurons we simulate any neuron connected to it. Essentially passing down the impulses. In essence, by simulating enough neurons near the neuron or set of neurons which indicate “woman”, we can get the neuron or set in question to be simulated. Thus, this adds much needed nuance to the question “what is a woman?”.