Jack Cummins

I do believe that we have to be careful, especially in looking at religious experience. If anything, I have been a bit overwhelmed by the many replies...

I think that myth is of supreme importance. I believe that this connection with reality is at the core of how we live. It may come into play in religi...

You ask why a personal structure would be mythic, and I think that this is because we are immersed in personal and other stories, and cannot really st...

Yes, I think that we do need to consider the whole question of what it means to turn 'inwardly towards the light'. However, I come also with many ques...

I think that William James was writing at a particular time and it did, inevitably leave a lot of questions about what we can do in this process. One ...

I do believe that science give us some certainty, but even that can make us feel under a rigid agenda of medical views and diagnostic criteria. Long b...

Perhaps religious belief or lack of it can both be overwhelming. Without religion, it all seems illusionary, but, on the other hand, if we see ourselv...

Thanks for replying to my thread. I went out for a walk in the park after writing the question and have spent the evening going through the replies, a...

I am glad to meet you on the forum. It is interesting to interact with someone who comes from the complete opposite angle of having been raised in an ...

I would say that the balance between too much information and too much reflection time is complex. I often feel overwhelmed by both of them. I have so...

I do believe that it is essential that we hold on to the need to be able to hold onto the search for truth, wherever it takes us, into the rocky banks...

How do you think that we can go to the heart of this issue authentically, but without being bound to intellectualisation?

Do you think that the basis of being born into a tradition is of that much significance nowadays? The reason why I ask this is because we live in such...

I see that you think that James's definition of religion is not sufficient. I am open to other ones, if you feel that there are more expansive ones. I...

I am interested to know why you think that we don't need religious beliefs, any more than alcohol and opium. I think that we are talking about whole m...

'If we dwell on the notion that we are being deceived or toyed with on some level by a higher power, it can become a self fulfilling prophecy.' I thin...

Your idea of a formula sounds fair enough, but whether it is one which will be implemented in most societies is one which I would question. I see the ...

Yes, there a whole load of interesting questions which exist independently of the various religious and other belief systems. It almost seems that the...

While I said in my previous post to you that I thought that it would be problematic to see the philosopher's task as being one of character, rather th...

I am inclined to think that matter and everything is recycled in some ways. In some ways, the idea of reincarnation is like recycling of 'souls'. The ...

The question that you are asking is one that I wonder about a lot and it has also been one looked at in other threads I think that the future of our c...

Actions may determine the future but only partially. In particular, the events of the last year have thrown countless numbers of people's lives into j...

You describe the life of potential virtue but it does not seem to me that this would necessarily result in enabling one to be a 'better philosopher' ....

The one thing which I do have to point to is that we have moved away from the idea of eternal recurrence as expressed by Nietzsche. But having voiced ...

Actually I have to say that I find mindfulness more helpful than psychotherapy. I had some Jungian therapy while I was doing an art therapy course and...

Yes, I think that NDEs only give us so much else and the rest is speculation. Even within Christianity there is a division between those who believe t...

That's an interesting take on his idea. I certainly am bombarded by the little voices within which play back experiences over and again. Psychotherapy...

I am not sure about a mechanistic picture, although of course there are fundamental laws in the physical universe. The idea of karma is meant to be ab...

Yes, I don't believe that Nietzsche's perspective was intended to be fatalistic. I am inclined to think that he was juggling between pessimism and opt...

Hello, I see that you are both new to the forum and first incarnated onto a thread which I wrote 3 months ago. No one seemed to notice and respond to ...

Obviously you have to choose whether you stay on the forum or not. It sounds like you have an outlet for your philosophy exploration in your present s...

It is hard to be certain about many of the big questions in philosophy and doubt is important. However, I do think it is worth taking risks in explori...

I believe that if we approach others on the internet in an attitude of hostility we are not going to achieve any meaningful interaction. I have not be...

As you know, I am interested in the whole issue of consciousness after death too. My own view shifts and, deep down, I am not really sure. I do think ...

I am inclined to agree with Freud that suppression of our desires results in the subconscious rebelling. I am sure that Freud had many weaknesses in h...

The way you are viewing eternal recurrence in the movie based on repeated patterns until one becomes less egoist sounds similar to the idea of karma. ...

Actually, I am inclined to think that life repeats itself until something becomes 'entirely different.' This is based on my own experience of noticing...

Welcome to the forum, and I actually wrote this thread about 3 months ago and you are the first person to comment about it. Since that time, someone e...

I am glad that you found this site and I have found that it has given me a lot of liberty to express ideas since I found it in September last year. I ...

I read the article on Sorokin, thanks. I had not come across him but it does seem that he has some useful ideas. The one which I found particular inte...

The activity which I find so liberating is creative writing groups and workshops. Of course, finding the right one is important. I enjoy writing ficti...

You speak of the fall of civilisation of Rome, but there may have been civilisations and cycles long before this. I know that continents such as Atlan...

I am not sure that happiness is just about achieving goals and desires because many people achieve these and are not happy. Perhaps the Buddha was rig...

You asked what it means for humanity to consciously die. Personally, I would view this as a means of people being lacking in self awareness. I am not ...

Thanks for your comments. I have been reflecting on the nature of liberty today and I that even though the idea is related to aspects of life in the w...

Thanks, I will just hope that things will improve in England because at the moment it is all so demoralising and soul destroying. Obviously, all the p...

Thanks for your link article. I will read it tomorrow as it is after 1am. I do think that we are in need of culture change to prevent cultural collaps...

I quite like your idea of 'Liberty is yourself stuck with yourself'. Having opened this complex debate, with no easy answers, I feel a bit consoled wi...

I have read the article link and can see problems arising with the idea of liberty in the secular times, but came away from reading without any clear ...

I am in England, not America, but I presume that the same principles apply. How do you believe that the idea of 'might makes right' as a replacement f...