praxis

Pizza is like sex, even when it's bad it's still pretty good.

I would say that the world itself evidences the Buddhist concept of emptiness, and that the so-called 'realization of emptiness' is a deeply personal ...

Why do they choose to suffer in that way? And if it's a choice, can't they simply choose not to suffer when they get bored with it?

There’s a variety of methods for dating ancient documents and they’re reported to be quite accurate. Personally I would consider the content of the do...

I doubt people choose to imprison themselves in a hellish frame of mind.

Divine judgment implies a conscious, willful decision by a deity. Perhaps you fear that Buddhism is wrong and theistic religions are true?

As a Buddhist? That's cause & effect and not divine judgement, isn't it?

A lot of if is designed to inspire fear, I'm afraid. On the flip side, believers have a lot to fear as well, such as: Fear of Doubt and Unbelief Fear ...

Wait, what? I thought tariffs were paid by abusive countries. :joke: https://preview.redd.it/trump-doesnt-know-what-a-tariff-is-v0-c4ewln0ipvwd1.png?a...

With wet-on-wet oil paint it would be difficult to get a light white over a blue sky. I sketched out the negative rough shape of the clouds with turqu...

Yesterday’s small effort. https://i.postimg.cc/3x1YCnzt/IMG-0808.jpg

It’s the artist’s duty to remind you. Invitations to view the world aesthetically is a beautiful thing. :flower:

"All that I have written seems like straw" — St. Thomas Aquinas In this light I don’t understand your and Fire’s current complaints about irrationalit...

I see. That was an impulsive comment and I regret making it. Your post caught me off guard—in a funny way—and the wine didn’t help. Sorry. :pray:

Still missing the point but nevermind if you don’t want to speak more directly or whatever.

I thought that might be the case. Will try the marmalade. :yum:

Unity in the plurality of purposes? What I meant was that religious influence is used for a variety of purpose, many of which are good of course, but ...

The fruit of our two or three year old peach tree today: https://i.postimg.cc/v1VLdPpK/IMG-0809.jpg The fig has already started producing even though ...

Ah, got it — you're asking about the computational or energy cost of extra words like “please” when talking to me, not socially. The short answer: it'...

I've always worn sandals a lot and the last pair I got have a bottle opener on the bottom. I didn't want it, it just happened to be on the cheap pair ...

How about something like Twin Oaks? Not a cult! Blog post evaluating the successes and failures of Twin Oaks.

Not really, no. I like the way Tom describes his experience, that the story's enchantment lies in how it's told.

This part where Gatsby is found in the pool made a lasting impression. Rich like chocolate cheesecake. “The laden mattress moved irregularly down the ...

My wife teaches it in High School English and can’t praise it enough. When I commented about the writing she began reciting some of her favorite lines...

Hamlet? I think he was indirectly calling me a nihilist.

I read Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Deneen not too long ago. What’s your point?

The Great Gatsby. Beautifully rich writing though a little too rich for my pedestrian tastes, I guess.

Lol, the hallmark of all religions is the expulsion of dissonant voices.

That can be used for a variety of purposes. Shouldn’t there be just one purpose though?

Interesting because believers typically lament the enlightenment and the so called death of God. And sacred text are eminently amenable to reinterpret...

Agreed.

You’re not missing anything. Many consider moral foundations a half-baked theory.

You’re suggesting that people with a God-shaped hole in their hearts may be desperate enough to gulp down some authentic looking Kool-Aid? A leap of f...

My understanding is that we’re required to mention when AI is used, which is why I mentioned it. It’s a strange idea that people are entirely rational...

According to MFT, I guess MAGA is skewed towards Loyalty/Betrayal, Authority/Subversion, and Liberty/Oppression.

I’ll let AI take care of the uninteresting questions. Trust is earned through consistent actions, honesty, accountability, empathy, and respect. By be...

Trust can be earned or given blindly. What is the value of giving it blindly?

More generally I’m inclined to say that power is the most abused aspect, though in society power amounts to influence and that includes a degree of tr...

Let’s say for now that X = trust.

It’s painfully obvious that faith is the most abused aspect of religion, isn’t it?

You don’t understand, perhaps willfully? We all have the same moral intuitions. How could we not?! It’s just that, according to moral foundations theo...

I like the crooked horizon line but the compositional snafu of being in the middle of the frame is unforgivable.

See Tom’s last post above. I’m anti-religious and view faith as non-rational, though there are clearly many instances of irrational religious faith.

Of course not, I would say it’s intuitive and that we all have intuitive assessments of things and the intuitive sense is foundational. Knowledge, ana...

I don’t get it. Tom doesn’t claim that faith is inherently irrational in that post or the couple of subsequent posts.

I’m thinking that pretty much all a child has is the essence of mum. No words or definitions. Mum may mean security, nourishment, and the like, on an ...

Ah yes, going back a step. I don’t think anyone would say it’s inherently irrational.

I think a child that successfully uses “mum” must necessarily have the essence of their mum. It’s just not a very developed concept. If we can identif...

That’s rather out of the blue. I think there are many many things, like love for instance, which are irrational and good.

:up: