Is THIS the Problem ?
I am going to take a crack at identifying a social disease which goes by the acronym T.H.I.S.
It stands for
I disagree completely. And I am confident that your beliefs will ultimately change when it becomes more common to do so. You are not an "early adopter" Rococo. Not a risk taker. You are one of these people who stays in the middle of the pack with no firm positions which require you to stick your neck out. We are hierarchical creatures. Generally speaking, there is perceived saf
It sounds like you have confidence in your soul read and in your own superiority as the tip of the spear, so I guess we are done. Have fun changing the world.
Have you read it?
Most haven't but you objected more than to test cricket and to banning anyone from ruling the world so it considerably raises the chances you have.
I obviously read it, although it has been many years. I wouldn't have commented otherwise. As I recall, I didn't object to the themes, but I did find the narrator somewhat insufferable and I did find his pop references to Greek philosophy to be laughable.
According to a determinist like Einstein, we don't choose what we want. So, in a sense, our decisions are pre-ordained.
How does a lion decide when it's time to challenge another lion for control of a pride ? It's got a lot to do with hormone levels peaking.
I suspect that humans are pretty much the same.
Boomers are like the old male lion which is en route to being replaced. They have always reigned supreme historically as a result of their relative numbers and the time and place of their birth. Now we're dying off and young people are getting a taste of what it feels like to get some wins. They are hungry for something different.
My concern is that we have somehow altered the basic functioning of the human animal via environmental poisoning. Testosterone levels are falling off a cliff.
According to a determinist like Einstein, we don't choose what we want. So, in a sense, our decisions are pre-ordained. How does a lion decide when it's time to challenge another lion for control of a pride ? It's got a lot to do with hormone levels peaking. I suspect that humans are pretty much the same. Boomers are like the old male lion which is en route to being replaced. T
Lions don’t decision make. It sounds like humans don’t either in your model.
Yet, you still use phrases like “decision making” for human beings..
You can't measure the self ?
We come with boundary layers called skin which separate us from others. We have hearts whose beats can be measured via EKG. We can stand on a scale and measure our weight. We wake up every morning and look in the mirror and see pretty much the same thing we saw the day before.
We are overwhelmed with objective evidence of the self.
Personally, I view myself as a temporary vessel whose ingredients are an integrated piece of a universal oneness. There is a simultaneous sense of the physical boundary between myself and others and the sense of being unified with them at a deeper level. We all share a common origin and a common destiny. The variety lies in how we live.
You can't measure the self ?We come with boundary layers called skin which separate us from others. We have hearts whose beats can be measured via EKG. We can stand on a scale and measure our weight. We wake up every morning and look in the mirror and see pretty much the same thing we saw the day before. We are overwhelmed with objective evidence of the self. Personally, I view
Does a housefly have a self?
Lions don’t decision make. It sounds like humans don’t either in your model.
Yet, you still use phrases like “decision making” for human beings..
I am a determinist. As such, I do not believe in free will. The Jews believe in free will. They believe that man shapes his own life. I reject that doctrine philosophically. In that respect I am not a Jew… I believe with Schopenhauer: We can do what we wish, but we can only wish what we must. Practically, I am, nevertheless, compelled to act is if freedom of the will existed. If I wish to live in a civilized community, I must act as if man is a responsible being.
~ Albert Einstein
I obviously read it, although it has been many years. I wouldn't have commented otherwise. As I recall, I didn't object to the themes, but I did find the narrator somewhat insufferable and I did find his pop references to Greek philosophy to be laughable.
I wouldn't disagree with those criticisms. I don't see them as much of an argument against the book. Plenty more criticisms could be made as well.
Fair enough. Imo the valid criticisms are many but it's also probably the most extraordinary book I've ever read.
I'm not human centric if that's what you're trying to get at. Flies have all of the same objectives measures of self as humans do .... they are death avoidant like us. I don't have any idea what a flies internal experience is or their sensory apparatus reveals to them other than that they have an instinctual understanding that I am a threat to them.
They seem to have an affinity for wild animals.
I confess to being partial to humans because they're my kind.
I'm not human centric if that's what you're trying to get at. Flies have all of the same objectives measures of self as humans do .... they are death avoidant like us. I don't have any idea what a flies internal experience is or their sensory apparatus reveals to them other than that they have an instinctual understanding that I am a threat to them. They seem to have an affinit
How can you spew this out and not realize you have no idea what the self is?
Except you do this repeatedly.
No one should take you seriously.
A couple of things.
First .... I was a Jewish child who grew up not too long after the Holocaust. I was raised to believe that was an evil outcome and to be on the alert for something parallel. The lesson I drew from that was not to be silent under similar circumstances. Being silent makes me feel ill. For me, authenticity and expression is like breathing.
Second, I have offspring. There's a compulsion to try and protect their future.
Third .... my own survival is connected to having a sense of purpose. There's an aspiration to add value and make a difference.
I suppose there's something else.
I love life. I want it to go on for others after I've departed. Not just my own kids.
It's feels good to wish good things for others.
That's a place where selfishness and compassion come together as one. It's healthy for me to wish others well.
That's a place where selfishness and compassion come together as one. It's healthy for me to wish others well.
I recommend you read ... errr me. In SMP somewhere
Everything is about our selfish wants but some of those things we want are about other people and what they want. Empathy is the mechanism
Fair enough. Imo the valid criticisms are many but it's also probably the most extraordinary book I've ever read.
What ideas were illuminated in the book which you found so compelling ? I haven't read it.
I remember reading Siddhartha by Herman Hesse as a teenager. I found it very compelling.
Ok we read it very differently or saw something very different.
Maybe another part of our failure to communicate. We come from such different places (I don't mean geographically)
FWIW, I definitely do not object to literature with a strong philosophical component. Quite the opposite, actually. That wasn't the issue at all.
I recommend you read ... errr me. In SMP somewhere
Everything is about our selfish wants but some of those things we want are about other people and what they want. Empathy is the mechanism
Buddhists make a distinction between empathy and compassion.
Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of others and humility guides us to grasp that we have limits. Some people may feel things which we don't. Compassion is a more generalized awareness that people are prone to suffering for a variety of reasons ..... some of which we may never experience ourselves.
I'm a man. I'm never going to give birth or menstruate or go through menopause. I have compassion for that experience, but not empathy. I will never know what that's like.
What is SMP ?
The main things is the thinking and the multiple journey being undertaken. It's hard (and probably wrong) to give the highlights because the journey is so key.
There's a good bit about ghosts.
I'm not a buddhist btw. I'm a hard line analytical chap. SMP is science maths & philosophy. We used to discuss good stuff
I'm a man. I'm never going to give birth or menstruate or go through menopause. I have compassion for that experience, but not empathy. I will never know what that's like.
That's the sort of stuff we might have addressed. We don't have to be able to experience the specific thing to empathize and have compassion with other people or animals or even objects. We never know what it's like to be someone else even where we appear similar. Pain/etc are private.
How can you spew this out and not realize you have no idea what the self is?
Except you do this repeatedly.
No one should take you seriously.
Craig ..... you remind me of a conversation I once had with a friend. We were discussing color blindness and how two people look at the same thing and see something different. One sees red and one sees green.
My friend was obsessed with determining which one was correct. His conclusion was that the more common perception was correct and that the less common perception was incorrect. He was obsessed with the idea of right and wrong and there being only one right answer. He couldn't cope with a world which might be different than what he perceived it to be.
You are like my friend. Convinced that there is only one right answer and that you are in possession of it. Anyone who sees things differently is wrong.
Good luck.
FWIW, I definitely do not object to literature with a strong philosophical component. Quite the opposite, actually. That wasn't the issue at all.
FWIW I didn't think that was the issue.
Avoiding spoilers. I'm reading a seriously intelligent, compulsive thinker grappling with interesting ideas and concepts while going on an extraordinary journey. I'm riding along
Are these things mutually exclusive in your opinion ?
I have an affinity for both buddhist advice and objective science. I believe that buddhism offers a path out of unnecessary suffering (as opposed to pain which is part of nature). I think its superior to a lot of conventional mental health treatment and pharmaceutical options.
