Jack Cummins

My own feeling on this is that speaking of treating everyone as unique is about treating everyone as of equal worth, but not necessarily demanding tha...

I would agree that we are becoming fragmented and perhaps this does create a problem for becoming compassionate. I know that the more broken apart I a...

I would agree that compassion should extend to all sentient beings and not just human beings, but yes, it is harder to find the same connection with a...

There is so much. Probably the book I would recommend is 'Modern Man in Search for a Soul' is a good introduction to his ideas.

Out of the list you give I think that the one that springs to my mind is passion, but I don't wish to generalise. I am not saying that compassion has ...

It is hard work to gain awareness of the shadow because we all have a shadow side. He saw the work of the individual in coming to terms with all the n...

You are quite right to point to the way in which compassion is central to the Gospels. I would say that both Jesus and the Buddha are ultimate example...

I can offer you the following quote from Judith Lief, in 'Radical Compassion', 'Compassion is based on empathy, being touched by the suffering of othe...

I think that you are speaking about many forms of self destructiveness. I am concerned about the issues of prejudice and other injustices too. People ...

I read an article in Feb/March 2021 'Philosophy Now' , which is relevant to the thread, so I will make a brief mention of it for anyone who is interes...

It is the first time that I have come across you, so I expect you are new and I am glad to meet you. This thread is about people insisting upon being ...

It is all haphazard. Perhaps the problem is that the leaders are not prepared to admit to making mistakes and insistent on appearing right in public o...

I definitely believe that the whole approach to prejudice cannot be taught easily in schools or government programs and you are right to say that, 'It...

I definitely believe that something is missing from the narrative we are seeing about Covid_19. Apart from the difference in the way it was all being ...

Your thoughts are 'treat the person in front of you as they deserve to be treated based on that individual. See them for who they are and respond to t...

You say that, 'Its easy to be a Robin Hood when you do not take the consequences yourself'. I can assure your that I am not leading the most comfortab...

Generally, I agree with you and I was in health care until last May. Obviously measures were needed to curb the pandemic but I think that so much that...

I am sure that ideas about lockdowns have been fueled by people who have thought this was right. However, no easy solution has been found to contain t...

Perhaps it might be worth you writing a fuller discussion of this and creating a thread on it in the main discussion area, as it is a central aspect o...

I think that the majority of people are so engrossed in technology that perhaps they have stopped asking questions about it. It seems that many just s...

But don't forget that Descartes thought that the pineal gland was important. Of course, this is recognised as the third eye chakra within some Eastern...

It is a bit like the missing link of physics. The point at which the spark of consciousness appears is what glares out from all the discussions I have...

I think that your idea of energy giving rise to consciousness is interesting but it might be hard to show. I think that it might involve vibrational f...

I think that you are correct to say that 'our infinity is coexistensive of our finitude', and in this way we need to become more humble in our view of...

I would imagine that consciousness does exist before birth and that is not just a state of nothing, but just of a different nature to the one we are f...

I am inclined to think that the beauty of philosophy lies within the knots. We may find our meaning in their unraveling and perhaps life would not be ...

I certainly don't see myself as talking down to you. That is your interpretation. Really, I just want to discuss philosophy and not get into petty arg...

On what grounds do you believe that I am becoming authoritarian, because what you have said is a sweeping statement in itself?

It is hard to know how far we should go into silence, or talking about what we do not know with certainty. To some extent, speaking about some areas w...

I am not meaning to be contradictory but just struggling to make sense of the issue of change and time on a freezing cold day amidst the misery of loc...

Yes, I think what you were talking about was more about the opposite state to suicide rather than the spiritual topic of Nirvana and I think that is w...

Ideas are becoming less esoteric because so much information is available. I just believe that we should be a bit on the side of caution, and be hones...

Please see my post to Synthesis to see the perspective I am coming from. Also, please bear in mind that it was not me who began the thread, so it will...

Yes, I think that it all comes down to recognising the limits of our knowledge during discussions. We are moving in an age where so much information i...

I think that your experience is more valuable than when people just lift passages from books and provide links because you are sharing lived knowledge...

I actually edited my reply to you because I realised that it was from a book. I knew that it was not your own writing and I really can't see the point...

Thanks for providing a link and a long passage which I will read. But really i would have been more interesting to hear your view or understanding of ...

I think that it is possible to be inside and outside of time. It is both subjective and objective. I think that this possibility arises because it is ...

Strangely enough, I am reading the novel, by Mary Shelley, 'The Last Man,' too and I think it a very good book.

I would say that fantasising is a good way of visualising our goals. The only thing that I would say that sometimes life is not that straightforward t...

Okay, I see your point, but of course I might have guessed it came from Wikipedia, because that is what most people rely on as a reference. What I wou...

Where does your definition of Nirvana come from? Part of the problem which I see is that the idea was originally in Sanskrit writings, so getting a pr...

From my understanding of your description of Nirvana, I think you are coming from a very Westernised take on it, which is not based on the belief in N...

I am inclined to think that the information we find on computers is sometimes lacking something. However, I am not sure that everyone else would agree...

The one concern which I have is about how computer technology is used, for good or bad. Obviously, it brings positives, mainly so much knowledge at th...

I think I am editing my life all the time. I am busy looking for data and the experimenter seems to be AWOL. Sometimes, it feels like life is all snak...

I would say that the main reason why I would say that the reason I see the whole question of how one should live as being related to the biggest quest...

Some people find more meaningful in dreams than others. I have very vivid dreams and I am interested in lucid dreaming, although I probably don't foll...

I do think that meaning is something we find for ourselves. It all seems like being in a labyrinth at times. I have felt as if I am in a dream on many...

Yes, concentration is a good thing, especially for driving or riding a bike. I don't drive and have never tried to learn, partly because I don't think...