javra

As far as the details of this go, it depends on how one goes about conceptualizing what “an eye” is. Light detection is found in prokaryotes (like bac...

Nearly forgot: Once the signals from the dendrites reach the CNS, I uphold that they then, and only then, become the first constituent aspects of one'...

This explains it more succinctly that I could in my own words: Whereas the retina is a part of the central nervous system (CNS), more specifically the...

To take visual perception as one relatively well studied example, the retina of the eye is technically a portion of one’s brain. Most retinal Informat...

OK. Thanks for the answer.

Ah. OK. I see things differently here. There's the "good" of not suffering, which I take all to consciously or unconsciously be oriented toward withou...

I neglected this part, Can you unpack what an agape that pays no regard to persons signifies to you? Agape, commonly understood as "selfless brotherly...

My honest hunch is that Zen Buddhism is somehow often misconstrued, even among certain self proclaimed Zen Buddhism teachers/masters/experts which fur...

Of course. The very occurrence of being (else Being with a capital "B") is arational. Just about the only exception to the law of sufficient reason. A...

"Attachment" is not expressed in the passage, but "biased toward" is. To reiterate what I previously expressed, I'm all for the ideal of a mindful (as...

Same point as?

Ah, I see you've just added the last sentence, which does go toward answering my question regarding detachment from the world in conjunction with comp...

(the second being from an Eckhart quote and not your own words) It so far seems to me that to have compassion for others and the world at large one mu...

My way of explaining this is that it is not that you (i.e., that I-ness) which is the agential first-person point of view (i.e., which is the consciou...

If I interpret you correctly, we then are in general agreement on the key issues. (My intention was not that of championing Humean philosophy: to me, ...

I find that words and their connotations often get in the way: in Hume’s arguments against moral rationalism he wasn’t arguing or concluding that mora...

Thanks for that!

Like the ‘nothingness vs. no thingness’ divide which we’ve agreed upon in previous threads, “detachment” is a term which in at least the English langu...

:grin: :up:

Yes, very much agree. Though I wouldn’t use the word “doubt” to express this but “(psychological) uncertainty” instead: I find doubt to necessarily be...

I take most of this thread to be about the befuddlement of language in attempting to articulate that which ontically is or else occurs in regard to at...

I’m of course on board in upholding that language is extremely important (crucial in this sense) to the uniqueness of human intelligence. But I don’t ...

Some thoughts in considering this: Were thought essentially propositional, a person who for example ponders and arrives at conclusions solely via use ...

For my part, this issue boils down to what one interprets by the term “thought”. If one holds that cognizance (a fancier way of saying “awareness”) is...

Been thinking more about this and I wanted to address it. Neither do I find it to be a sui generis artificial truth, but I do find it to define truth ...

You raise a good point. But I do hold some concerns regarding the dichotomy between actuality and potentiality. If actuality is “that which is present...

I agree with the position that the nature of truth is not binary. For starters, to emphasize what I take the OP to in part state, many if not most of ...

I think I can understand the argument you’re endorsing: one way to paraphrase my understanding is that one ought not strive to be perfect in the here ...

While you bring up a cogent distinction, I’m not familiar with the term “creativity” being used in the first sense of simply “creating things”. For ex...

Here’s a postulate I’d like to test out: There can be no distal goal held by life—from bacteria to humans—which is utterly original and thereby never ...

I'm no stranger to being wrong, but I so far don't find a connection between what I've said and what you've said. Can you embellish?

You have a way of psychoanalyzing - and it's often as erroneous as hell to boot. But that your are imputing motivations which are not there is, well, ...

:rofl: And "I am projecting", this because you say so. Gaslighters are as gaslighters do. (This statement doesn't insinuate anything. :chin: ) Yea, yo...

I can very much respect this. As to "endeavors towards wholeness", I tend to find wholeness in this context and wholesomeness to be virtually indistin...

Glad to see you're in no way peeved by it. :grin: Cheers. In which way do you find that compassion is a distancing from moral absolutes and ethical id...

Since a middle way assumes a middle path or placement between extremes which are otherwise accessible, when applied to ethics (i.e., the study of good...

Janus, before you reply with question after question, try addressing those I asked of you. And as to: Simply because your question directly insinuates...

Very much agree.

In virtue of Buddhism being a soteriological school of thought. If life sooner or later necessarily result in nothingness, what is its point in its oc...

As with most versions of Buddhism for example, I strongly disagree. Playing footloose with what the term "nihilism" signifies. For my part, I've alrea...

OK, sure. For what it’s worth, personally, I too for my own reasons find the notion of nothingness after this life more appealing than any other (nice...

As to the natural vs. the supernatural/transcendental: If nature consists of that which is visible and measurable in quantifiable ways, then is the mi...

“I’m a staunch nihilist, because my impeccable reasoning /slash/ faith makes me so. Prove to me that there is any worthwhile meaning which can occur i...

Since this discussion hasn’t been so far closed … I’ve never much understood why permanent solutions to temporary problems ought to be shunned. It’s o...

Somewhat belated, but thank you.

Since I've now got some spare time, I'll try again: In the sense of what Shakespeare asked by the question "to be or not to be?", do you or do you not...

You might not “follow the logic” but …. Suicide rates increased 37% between 2000-2018 in the US and is one of the leading causes of death. If life is ...

I don’t have the time to fully unpack this. But it is sheer emotion/sentimentality devoid of any rational exposition. As though atheists don’t operate...

I find that suffering, much like understanding, comes in nonquantitative magnitudes - rather than in a binary of on/off. An animal will understand fri...

Philosophy (the love of wisdom) is about coping. Be it the "highest" form of coping or the "deepest" form of coping, it's coping with suffering all th...