Jack Cummins

I don't see how the researcher would benefit because knowledge of how the brain works does not result automatically into having command of it. We know...

My own understanding of the ideas of Bohm and Talbot is that these writers are trying to overcome dualism and reductionist determinism. That is by see...

I think that we all face the tension between lack of knowledge or an assumption of knowing so much. Perhaps, the more inflated any of us become, in ou...

It sometimes seems that people in our time act as if we are fortunate to be able to understand so fully, but it is hard to know what knowledge is yet ...

Yes, I think that too many people have inflated egos, and this probably extends to people with a whole variety of beliefs and ideas.

I am grateful for the internet. I have found discussion on this site so helpful during lockdown. My mother got really annoyed with me when I kept sitt...

I know that you say that understanding 'is beyond our capacity' and, of course, there are limits but without a certain amount, surely, we would be com...

I came from a Catholic background which was quite liberal but left many questions unexplained. I explored these, but have come across people who becam...

I agree with what you wrote about needing to feel part of something much larger, and perhaps this is what gets lost when we spend so much time logged ...

I am not convinced of the logic that to understand one thing would result in knowing everything. If only.. I also think that it is just as easy to go ...

I think what you are saying is essentially true and often gets missed in some circles of philosophical discussion. Personally, I was brought up as a C...

I would imagine that the big questions must be becoming increasingly difficult for children, with so much information available, especially on the int...

B F Skinner thought that consciousness was illusory but if that was true how do we make sense of conscious awareness. What does appear to be more pote...

I am definitely not in favour of 'an ideal realm of abstract knowledge.' That would seem to be drudgery and not helpful for living. Really, I am proba...

I do agree that the mysteries which I have spoken about are not just abstract ones, but involve connections. The way we answer them is central to how ...

I think that you are right to emphasise the importance of reason. We may not always be completely rational, but, at the same time, it does seem that w...

If free will is the central problem of philosophy it does depend what it means, and it may come down to how we perceive ourselves to be free or not. W...

I know that you seem to question the idea of a holographic perspective, but do you think that the idea of an implicate order makes sense at all? I do ...

Yes, I can be happy knowing so little too, and I do still enjoy sitting and reading philosophy books...

I do agree that insight wisdom is the most essential aspect of philosophical exploration. This probably goes beyond the surface of philosophical discu...

I do agree with your earlier argument about 'conspicuous absences' in metaphysics. It does make one wonder how it all happened that certain ideas were...

I stumbled across Talbot's book by chance in one of the few shops that were selling books during lockdown. However, I had read Bohm's, 'Wholeness and ...

I can see your point of view, but I am not sure that the three big philosophy questions can just be neatly swept away, after all the centuries of disc...

I am not sure that your arguments work. Proving that penises exist is so much easier than talking about God, because there is clear evidence. As for f...

I do agree that physicalism ought to be avoided. I am not a physicist, so may be going into a territory for which I am not fully able to explore. I fi...

I agree that the world and its possibilities seem to be changing rapidly. The only question is whether we can keep up in our theories and philosophy. ...

I am not sure. We all see parts and wholes, and I not sure where one ends and another begins, because it seems to be about framing and perspectives.

I do believe in following up to date ideas and realise that the theory I wrote about was 1991. The only one thing which I do wonder about is that by f...

I do agree that my post may be too vague. But, as far as I can see we are in a Tower of Babel anyway. I can empathise with your dislike of psychothera...

Yes, I believe that 'getting dirty' in the sense of going beyond the pleasing perspective in trying to find a correct picture of reality may be necess...

I am not aware of Michael Talbot straying into questionable areas, such as astral projection. I am wary of these. I have been reading,'The Elegant Uni...

You are quite right to distinguish conceptual, epistemological, metaphysical and existential aspects of exploration. We probably all juxtapose these u...

I notice your edit about the 'distacefulnress' of existence. So, one question is whether we are trying to construct ways of making sense of this, alth...

I do believe that 'partipating" is important rather than a detached searching. I certainly don't wish to give up asking meaningful questions, perplexe...

I agree that 'indoctrinated belied' and 'emotional bias' are important and complex. However, even putting those aside, I am not sure that we can solve...

I do agree that ' 'every answer opens more questions' . So, where do we go next? Do we have to just come up with infinite questions?

Of course, I would prefer that we come up with the best rational answers. However, it appears to me that these complex questions come shrouded in a ve...

I am adding Bohm's evaluation, as expressed by Talbot: 'Bohm does not believe any theory is correct in an absolute sense, including his own. All are a...

I am not saying that you are wrong, but other people may see everything from an entirely different perspective. Having conversed with so many differen...

I speak of mysteries, but each of us has a different understanding, and for some people such question are solvable and for others they are not. Here t...

I am glad that some one else on the site finds Jung's work reading. He is on the fringe of psychology, but I do believe that he explores many philosop...

I just logged onto the 'Forgotten Books' website which you mentioned. I found it to be fascinating, as a way of gaining access to reading many rare bo...

One area which I think is relevant to your debate is the idea of the law of attraction. It is not simply about mind over matter, because the two are n...

I just feel drawn to these areas of thought, and mainly read about them. I think that it is best to avoid using hallucinogenics, as far as possible. I...

It is a while since I read Zaehner's book. However, I think it raises the question of whether one should seek certain states of consciousness, and how...

I think that the question is really how genuine the ones on hallucinogenics are? But, I am not sure that there are any absolute answers. However, in r...

One important area is raised by an author Zaehner, in, 'Sacred and Profane Mysticism', is to what extent should the mystical states arrived at natural...

I have just spent about an hour on your link and will go back to it again as I think that it is excellent. You have put so much hard effort into it an...

I do some meditation but a bit haphazardly. I may go out and find a group when life begins again, because most things have been closed throughout the ...

I have read a few books by Carlos Castaneda and found them helpful, although I am not sure to what extent they are fictitious, as I have read some deb...