GENIUS FORUMS

Your belief (in a causal unity) is no more "logically consistent" than belief in an ego. Your belief is one possible belief out of greater than one equally valid options, which makes it arbitrary. Lol, if you say so. What about your ideas? Are they arbitrary too? No! My belief is the one ...

"by causation" - Isn't causation merely a theory of our invention, an interpretation? We see effects and posit a cause. What I'm getting at is: aren't your beliefs about reality (unity, causation, etc) just as arbitrary as another's beliefs (their ego, distinguishable things)? Are they no...

Even Nietzsche explores as some determination of a "truth" -- but he's at least "responding" to something. He writes actually quite often about it and names it many things (least of all "god"). Knowledge might be part of the responding, of the action. Not as much the d...

Here's a movie that might interest you:

Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? (1989)

Let me further clarify what I mean by egotism: it is the belief in an inherently existing ego, which operates independently of the causal processes that make up Reality. It is born out of biological necessity, and maintained by the lack of insight into the fundamental nature of reality in which all...

Nietzsche views consciousness from an evolutionary and biological perspective: as an organ, developed for survival utility and power enhancement, something unnecessary, limited, and highly overrated (ie. by some people on this forum ;-). He questions whether it belongs to ascent or exhaustion, and w...

The morality of disillusionment? "An enlightened person must act such and such because to act any other way is to believe in illusions ...." Oh come now.. aren't you just stretching the meaning of morality now? I don't know, am I? The morality of disillusionment: "believing in illusi...

Better yet, we should stop using such concepts altogether because, as far as I can see, the only value they can have is a delusive one. Just because 99% will be confused and sink deeper in a swamp of delusion with certain mushy concepts? That's no good reason. All concepts will eventually have to b...

Do you attach a specific set of moral values to enlightenment (ie. anti-egotism)? If so, then I'd say your enlightenment is just another dogmatic religion. Nope. Enlightenment has nothing to do with morality, and everything to do with disillusionment. If you define it amorally (like me), from a per...

Hello RZoo In my view, enlightenment could be described as the point where the drive for truth and logic above all else realizes that truth is a phantom, realizes that logic is merely one tool of human intelligence, and rejects their ultimate importance. From this point onward, the "enlightene...

After all that preamble, I really have to object to your introduction of the term "thing-in-itself" since it seems that any "thingness" will always be derived from relations, by definition. What else would a "thing" be? That's the intentional irony of the thing-in-itse...

The only constant is the thing-in-itself (aka a billion other names around here). Everything else is a relation.

All we need to do is relate one thing to the thing-in-itself and we'll have solved life in its entirety!

Hi Russell, Searching the net for a definition of ego gives many different answers. I think the first three definitons from dictionary.com are the most useful: 1. the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from o...

Genius log, July 08, 2014. Today I postulate a new theorem. Temperatures are irrelevant to resolving the "question" of heat sources . - Temperatures fluctuate. - Heat sources fluctuate (ie. the sun orbits around the earth). - To measure temperatures against heat sources is to measure one ...

Suffering and oppression might help one grow up, but it takes a developing, determined, and open mind to perceive and accept reality in any profound sense. Sure, suffering can provide the lessons, and nudge one along the way, but in the end it is up the intellect of the individual. Very true. The p...

Good stuff. I'm not saying that a global monk society work, or would even be possible. Natural selection favors the ego for many of the reasons you suggest. Call it a pipe-dream if you'd like, but the most worthy goal for all of humanity, in my opinion, is the understanding and intellectual transce...

Hi Russell, thanks for the reply. This is what happens when one irrationally and delusively worships logic or "truth" above all else: he is willing to sacrifice life/reality/experience (his participation in; himself) and the consciousness/reason/thought/communication (tools/means of partic...

Must I accept that logic and experience will always be at odds? In other words, must you accept that life is a mystery that's beyond a nice, neat, tidy comprehension by your mind? No, there are always religions and similar delusions offering a comfortable way out. ;-) If you're rigorously logical a...

Yes you are wise to point out that existence vs. non-existence is also ultimately an unnecessary duality. Unfortunately one must get wet in order to pull someone from a raging river. What is there without the river? No language, concepts, thought, ideas, reasoning, logic - perhaps no consciousness ...

If a thing exists, it must be caused. Causality is by definition uncaused. Therefore causality doesn't exist. If causality doesn't exist and for a thing to exist it must be caused, then nothing exists. Q.E.D. Causality supposes that things fall into separate categories. You have one thing, a cause,...

Diebert van Rhijn is correct. Some people around here (ie. Glostik91) don't seem interested in discussion for the sake of clarity or exchanging ideas, only in posting "wisdom" in the form of single sentences that pedantically challenge anything they can find in their interlocutor's post, ...

Diebert van Rhijn is correct. Some people around here (ie. Glostik91) don't seem interested in discussion for the sake of clarity or exchanging ideas, only in posting "wisdom" in the form of single sentences that pedantically challenge anything they can find in their interlocutor's post, w...

ardy wrote:When you discover that you are a lot softer than you think you are....

At least you have the comfort of the majority and the beautiful morality of compassion and peace, now. Strength and independence isn't for everyone. :-)

RZoo - Love it you remind me of the stupid self centred rubbish I used to spout when I was young. God! you take me back. ... Cahoots statement is correct to my mind and something you could learn something from. Ah yes, back when you used to spout stupid self-centered rubbish... good times. Now you'...

Glostik91 wrote:Requiring men to stay awake for more or less 8 days straight is just idiotic, and it becomes insane if you expect them to think about difficult ideas during this time.

No more idiotic than requiring them to stay alive for up to 100 years straight.