praxis

The article or content wasn’t eight grade level, the writing was. Also, you said it could be “as good as any” and now you’re saying that it was select...

Relationships work both ways. A group, or rather the leaders of a group, can take advantage of or abuse individuals. Individuals can freeload or betra...

Exactly.

Not a good idea for corporations and organizations to be against equal justice and the like, unless they're branding to backwater rednecks, so secret ...

I read it and charitably described it as "A more nuanced version of the 1st NT". It's only about a page long, written at the eighth grade level (middl...

Ugh, you’re trolling skillz are getting embarrassing. Can you be banned for low quality trolls?

What do you mean by the elite giving room for wokeness?

Yes, just not a good one. I went straight to the punchline and didn't read your OP until now. Turns out you've thoroughly thwarted all criticisms your...

To clarify, he's not explaining my misunderstandings. He's not pointing out my errors and showing how it really is. Also alleges a clandestine agenda ...

An odd statement considering deeply imbedded it is in Western, or at least American, culture. I imagine there could be if you were to present one.

I guess that's why democracy tends to work best for the average Joe.

Doesn't make sense. Were those who forced non-state societies into the drudgery and disease of developed agriculture working with them cooperatively o...

What you most fear, the state taking over what used to be provided by the collective.

Let's not kid ourselves, failure to explain suggests that you may not understand what you're talking about well enough to explain.

This implies that I'm for the project of the development of the state, regardless of the incalculable suffering that it may cause. As though I wish th...

So Buddhists are not only believers, they’re quitters as well. You’re gonna need more grit to end the dukkha, dude. :victory:

If these are rhetorical questions l’m not getting the point. It looks like life in hunter-gatherer society or simple farming was better until only rec...

I've read research that the original intentions were pretty much as you describe, and only relatively recently has civilazation been worth the price o...

Something as basic as food, I’m sure that prior to the FDA food producers didn’t want anyone meddling in their business. They did pretty much whatever...

A more nuanced version of the 1st NT, or ‘Western conditioning’, doesn’t alter the fact of the matter that if your experience is the cessation of dukk...

I’m not objecting to what Buddhists wish to believe. I’m merely pointing out, as does the OP, that it is belief.

I don’t think that any of us knows what it would be like to somehow erase all our conditioning and achieve a kind of moral blank-slate, if a ‘moral bl...

Yes. Life is comprised of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. If you realize your immorality there's satisfaction and dissatisfaction. If you realize em...

A moral framework that puts personal liberty on a pedestal, rationalizing selfish and in many cases self-defeating choices.

The choices we make are largely shaped by the culture and environment we develop in, or at least the way we rationalize our choices. It’s as though yo...

They'd use critical thinking, of course, to free themselves from libertarian beliefs and those that have manipulated them with it. Does that make sens...

So for example if a kid were raised in a, oh I don't know, heavy libertarian culture and eventually applied their God given critical thinking skills t...

Most (who isn’t?) enslaved by invisible bonds but are inherently free. Any way you can help me understand that?

You’re not being clear. First you say it’s a matter of belief, and that is of course the actual case, but then end in a kind of weasely way suggest mi...

If a person is actually free then they can freely assume responsibility. So why is there such an apparent lack of it? It seems to be the case that onl...

Man is born utterly dependent, actually, and compared to other mammals remains that way for a very long time. Man is also a social species and is ther...

I can partly agree with you because I'm not sure that we know what the costs really are yet and 'the opposite' could be worse. I'm also not sure that ...

According to selectorate theory particular forms of governance can be irrelevant. It has to do with concentrations of power. Odd question because it a...

Naturally, because it's worked out okay for you so far. There's a lot of irresponsibility in 'free society' and it has an ever escalating cost. I can ...

Baker speaks of taking Buddhist premises for granted and then eventually coming to believe them. His meaning is unclear but it's pretty clear that he'...

In a word: responsibility. People like freedom but responsibility is a big bummer.

Sorry I misinterpreted what you were saying. I didn't realize that you were only referring to Baker in the OP. Anyway, Baker's criticism is that the d...

It's good to be in the small coalition of power in an autocracy but the people always do better in a democracy, I understand.

I suspect that nothing would convince you otherwise. Am I right? Be honest.

On the other hand, Jim Crow laws, for example, didn't seem to ease the tensions in race relations very well. Perhaps those Southern Democrats weren't ...

Thanks, Isaac, that’s helpful.

Or perhaps beachgoers all jacked-up on ice cream swim more erratically and farther out to sea and the sharks don't sense the added sweeteners at all. ...

Perhaps sharks are attracted to ice cream lovers for some as yet inexplicable reason. We just don't know. Someone needs to do a study.

https://miro.medium.com/max/1538/1*xfeo0P87gcZLOD0tCJ_wZg.jpeg

I'm only familiar with MFT so my comments are limited to that theory. You re-quoted this from The Righteous Mind: This is pivotal to MFT? I like the w...

@"Isaac" I'm guessing that you're not comfortable with the term 'trait' because it may imply inborn and immutable qualities rather than something like...

It ain't on the top three list. One of the many benefits of Zen and the art of 'getting it'.

The topic is an invitation to express our disillusionment with Buddhism and I too wish synth the best of luck with that endeavor.

Laziness and self-indulgence are two of my worst traits.

It’s been awhile since I read Righteous Minds but I seem to recall the ‘foundations’ being regarded as social constructs. Constructs that are based on...