T_Clark

I wasn't saying every act of release or surrender is wise. All A is B, but not all B is A.

Not only have you set up rigid standards of what people must do to be virtuous, you have set rigid standards about how they must feel inside while the...

What is this virtue you speak of? Moral excellence; goodness; righteousness. Behavior showing high moral standards. Theological virtues - faith, hope,...

Lao Tzu says, and I think he's right: In pursuit of knowledge, every day something is added. In the practice of the Tao, every day something is droppe...

Love, friendship, health, pleasure, joy, interest, fearlessness, conversation, fellowship, curiosity, understanding, compassion, gratitude, generosity

The more I think about the world, the more I love it. The more I feel home in it. I belong here. All of us do. You do. Some philosophies hide that fac...

Philosophy means paying deep, prolonged attention to intricate questions. It is based on making a big deal about tiny details. People who live their l...

Well, if you want to look at "cool" as a philosophical term, that's ok, but I was using it more colloquially. You seem like you have your head togethe...

I certainly am not suggesting a change in your world-view. I'm not saying living a life without hope is what you need. You seem like a pretty cool guy...

It will be easier to follow your comments if you quote from the comment you are responding to. Select the text and a little box with the word "quote" ...

Someone does deny it. Actually, I recognize it as a phenomenon that happens and that people participate in, but it is not inevitable or desirable.

Your vision is personal and idiosyncratic yet you proclaim it as the objective truth for all people. I'm trying to think of the right word to describe...

Your statement shows a lack emotional and intellectual imagination. You don't seem to be able to fathom that others experience the world and their liv...

As I said in a recent post responding to t0m, I regret the phrase "self-indulgent despair." I disagree with your characterization of the dire conditio...

I felt bad about two of my comments on this thread - the one about Eeyore and the one Agustino quoted about self-indulgent despair. I made those befor...

Joke of the Day - October 20, 2017 Aristotle and Socrates go over to Plato’s cave to drink some beer. They find him in the back watching shadows on th...

I have found this whole discussion disturbing. People I like describing the bleakness of their lives. It is ironic that the people who believe the mos...

You guys are all claiming to speak for humanity when you're really only speaking from your own self-indulgent despair. No, we are all not trapped in d...

My God, this is like four Eeyores at a cocktail party.

This really is the heart of Alan Watts' view of the world. I think it was in "The Wisdom of Insecurity." It was one of his first books before he becam...

Lao Tzu was a smart guy.

I'm afraid that I won't be able to. If I had one wish, it would be to be fearless. Do I hope to be fearless? Here's what I've learned in 65 years - Yo...

I know from personal experience that you are incorrect. Giving up hope is not that difficult for me, although I'm far from perfect. Now, giving up fea...

Joke of the Day - October 19, 2017 Q: DesCartes said “cogito ergo sum.” What did DesCartes’ dog say? A: Nothing. DesCartes’ dog didn’t speak Latin.

Will everyone please go snipe at each other on the Shout Box.

I just got it off the web, but I think it's Stephen Mitchell's

Alan Watts: While there is life there is hope—and if one lives on hope, death is indeed the end. We are always thinking that the satisfaction of life ...

From the Tao Te Ching: Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear. What does it mean that success is a dangerous as failure? Whethe...

Are you talking about philosophy in general or this forum: On the forum, would-be philosophers just wanna have fun. Self-definition as recreation. God...

I see you're going back into computer generated gobbledegook mode. Or did you ever leave it? On a joke scale of 1 to 10, I classify it as "Not applica...

Shut up! he explained.

Boy, this gets complicated. I can see - half genes from mom, half from dad. Trait A from mom, Trait B from dad. But if it's a network, that's 1/2 mom'...

Joke of the Day - October 18, 2017 Isaac Newton and Frank were sitting outside under a tree, talking. Suddenly a piece of fruit falls and bounces on t...

The network approach really kicks sociobiology in the balls, which I'm sure Gould would have loved.

Thinking about my personal experience of compassion, there is an emotional distance there. It's not the same as pity or simple sympathy. That distance...

This post is really interesting. It's something I've thought a lot about, but you've thought about more and with more at stake. I've approached it in ...

Really interesting. You, Apokrisis, fdrake, and a few others are often discourteous enough to try to tie the simplifications we play with in philosoph...

You'll find that my arguments always come back to Emerson or Lao Tsu, or both. I looked up "thing-in-itself." Here's what Wikipedia says - "Things-in-...

I think I said this before on this thread. Maybe it was a different one - that's as disrespectful of women as it is of men.

I really agree with that. Compassion doesn't build the house of ethics, but it is the foundation.

I guess I was thinking of ethical behavior as the way people should behave, not what is practical to transmit. From the Tao Te Ching: There, when Tao ...

To me, there is a certain distance in compassion. It's not just sympathy or empathy. There is recognition and depth. I think I'm agreeing with you.

I think you're right. I should have included fairness along with compassion. In a way, fairness is more basic. If responsibilities, benefits, and cost...

3.5 stars. If it's your own joke, 4 stars.

I'm old now, but I was a pretty screwed up kid. I didn't know what I felt. I was numb a lot of the time. I've spent decades learning to become aware o...

Yes, I think it does. It comes from my observations, thoughts, and feelings about the world. And those are all one thing. As Emerson wrote: "Speak you...

I haven't haven't read anything you've written that didn't seem in good faith. I was responding to what Cavacava was saying. As for "us philosophy typ...

You and I disagree about the nature of human nature, at least in this context. You've called my ideas silly idealism, naïve. You say I'm ignorant of t...

By your logic, being hungry (the feeling) is the same thing as eating (the action).

Joke of the Day - October 17, 2017 Somebody else’s jokes: Zeno walks halfway into a bar…. The Buddha is low on cash, so he sets up a hot dog stand. A ...