praxis

The problem here appears to be that you're pointing to the 'process of conceptual division' as the cause of human psychological suffering (or a dilute...

Who in their right mind would want the universe to be like that? The Bible, for example, sounds every bit like a story developed by human beings, so i...

Sorry, I didn’t realize that I wasn’t addressing it. We apparently have somewhat differing views about the nature of this suffering.

It's just the spin is so blatant.

This is the headline Fox News decided to go with: Late night comics celebrate UN countries mocking Trump, United States Brietbart is even worse: Estab...

You appear to be unwilling to clarify what you mean by 'thought'. Most neural activity is subconscious. Again I'll point out that all mammals use this...

I know what you mean. I tend to think of the term as an established structure, whereby if significantly disturbed will throw the surrounding order out...

Don't you think we should fear it, or at least regard it with a good amount of caution? Religion can be a powerful tool in the hands of a charismatic ...

It's not that simple, as I tried to explain. Doesn't everyone want to be physically healthy? It is well know how to go about achieving this, so why ar...

How do you objectively separate the meaningful from the unmeaningful? Meaning is tied to vastly more than an individual or collective.

Modern psychedelic guides could be seen as contemporary shamans. There may be better examples but they at least fill the criteria of being non-religio...

I’m not following. You mention things (“realities”) that you claim can’t be depicted in non-religious terms. Indeed you mentioned the unconscious your...

Most of what you mention isn't even typically construed as religious. I'm not sure why you don't believe these things can't be depicted in other than ...

Johnny makes omelets and omelet making is a form of cooking, therefore Johnny is a crook.

Religions make metaphysical claims and metaphysics is a branch of philosophy, therefore religion is philosophy?

A believer might argue that meaninglessness is impoverished. I would argue that meaning is all around us and we are free to discover and develop it as...

Fellow human beings who share this world. Who is above questioning? Religious authorities??? :lol:

What realities would that be?

We're not rational beings, Jake. This is not how the world works. We're not necessarily geared to 'live in peace', we're geared to pass on our genes. ...

I meant to say that I don't think it's natural to fear largeness or otherness, as Jake appeared to claim. If this were true then we'd have a natural f...

I think a good first step would be to determine exactly what is meant by salvation in Christian doctrine or perhaps religious doctrine in general. Sav...

I think that Jake may be generally referring to existential anxiety. I don’t see how it could be natural to fear largeness or otherness. Existential a...

Good metaphor. I disagree that "thought" or dualism is the problem, however. I believe the problem may center around particular thoughts, or rather co...

Don’t need religion for this purpose. If fact, religious beliefs and practices may get in the way of fulfilling this purpose. Do you have a doctrinal ...

Religion is only good if a community finds it meaningful.

Social or personal doesn’t speak to purpose, and in any case, pretty much anything could be construed as ultimately personal, so I’m not sure what you...

The essential or primary purpose is to provide a system of meaning that can bind a community in common values and purpose, like a kind of glue that ho...

I imagine that if you could explain universal underlying theism you would have already.

I'm merely pointing out the fundamental flaw in your understanding. Whether or not it's shallow or "criticism hunting" is irrelevant to its validity. ...

Again, your error is in assuming this instinct is necessarily expressed as theism. It can be expressed in many different forms.

God or gods are essential to theism. Theism means belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially belief in one god as creator of the universe, i...

Where it specifically contrasts is faithfulness to the particular religion. Clearly it’s more than a just a culturally generated worldview if it requi...

Exactly. This doesn’t fly so well in religious circles.

Starting with the most basic, carefully regulate diet and physical activity. This is the best place to start because many emotions primarily function ...

They’re not any sort of absolute authority. It’s perfectly acceptable, and even considered a good and beneficial practice, to question these worldview...

It seems to not have answers to what questions?

A fundamental demarcation between religion and philosophy is that the former provides answers and the latter seeks them. That being the case, no relig...

If you don’t have any philosophical questions about emotion then I don’t see a problem.

A news outlet could perhaps attempt to present all relevant or known narratives.

This is a rather outdated understanding of what portions of the brain and body ‘control’ emotions. Anyway, what sort of philosophical questions do you...

OP-ED Alone and afraid – deep inside the Trump Whitehouse. The true story of one cowardly resister.

Of course it's not. I was attempting to illustrate the absurdity of your idea. How generously and open-minded of you to think so. :roll: I suppose it ...

Don’t feign ignorance, Frank, it’s unbecoming of @"ArguingWAristotleTiff"’s champion. Not to mention the other shameless fallacies, including that pat...

We’re not playing the same game. Going back to the beginning, the challenge was to defend the belief that Trump is good for the country and democracy,...

And you made yours with “Dow Jones loves him”? Faint, my friend, so very faint.

Forgive me, Frank, if I ignor the personal nonsense and only address some of your points. The question is if the kind of actions that I’ve pointed out...

I guess preaching to the choir takes heart, but of a different sort. The only hard part is deciding where to start. I know, last nights rally in India...

Rather, in accordance with your claim that art provides an "religious jag," whatever art is congruent with their religious views would have the greate...

Well, to be fair, it is an intimidating challenge to defend the belief that Trump is good for our country or democracy in general. Not for the faint o...

Seems like a good place to examine our beliefs to me. The only thing that could be injured is ego.