tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post2461959041795264904..comments2023-11-22T04:10:49.266-05:00Comments on Dispatches from Zembla: Adventures in PessimismAlokhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-24325454729052593712008-11-19T20:38:00.000-05:002008-11-19T20:38:00.000-05:00Alok:Re your:"I was just thinking aloud about "sci...Alok:<BR/><BR/>Re your:<BR/>"I was just thinking aloud about "scientific worldview" and whether we should accept it uncritically and if all those disasters in history (wars, genocide etc) are the results of our looking at the world purely from an analytical-scientific mindset."<BR/><BR/>People use whatever worldview will suit their ends. The religious worldview of feudalism was at least as bloody as the scientific worldview of capitalism. Conflict occurs when two formerly isolated social groups first come into contact. After victory or merger the two groups often end up the best of friends (e.g., US, Germany, Japan). You are correct in implying that there still is a choice to be made between the scientific worldview and the religious worldview. You may want to check out my blog on the subject at "TheScientificWorldview."<BR/><BR/>GlennGlenn Borchardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09394474754821945146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-24936446676549933782008-10-16T11:25:00.000-05:002008-10-16T11:25:00.000-05:00I was just thinking aloud about "scientific worldv...I was just thinking aloud about "scientific worldview" and whether we should accept it uncritically and if all those disasters in history (wars, genocide etc) are the results of our looking at the world purely from an analytical-scientific mindset.<BR/><BR/>I agree self-awareness can help us identify and work towards solving our problems but it can also lead to a loss of meaning and purpose.<BR/><BR/>This is a big and complex topic...we can talk about it later.Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-83356093575755917322008-10-13T22:38:00.000-05:002008-10-13T22:38:00.000-05:00Sorry, it doesn't make it clear to me what exactly...Sorry, it doesn't make it clear to me what exactly is the link between 'assault on scientific worldview' and 'opting for religious conversion'.<BR/>Anyway, the title of the blog is about pessimism so I think you are alredy preoccupied with the idea to think negatively. For me, being a bit pessimistic (at least about myself), this self-awareness also hurts me a lot of times; but looking at it a bit optimistically, this self-awareness can be harnessed very well in removing everything that it hurts about oneself.Aashuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01903987800218010521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-40329552019414555572008-10-09T10:12:00.000-05:002008-10-09T10:12:00.000-05:00thanks, this helps a little. Loving yourself and a...thanks, this helps a little. Loving yourself and at the same time being self-aware is not very easy, as self-awareness inevitably leads to doubts and self-criticisms, that's why it is so painful. Self-love is often nothing but solipsism and narcissism and self-delusion. I know, you mean a more "enlightened" form of self-love, a state where one is at peace with one's self and one's relationship with the world. But yes, we should keep it in mind even if we find it difficult to achieve.Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12674755.post-7278741324752013082008-10-08T23:29:00.000-05:002008-10-08T23:29:00.000-05:00Consciousness and self-awareness are two different...Consciousness and self-awareness are two different things. Consciousness is the more inclusive of the two. Self-awareness is merely one aspect of consciousness, and one of the many gateways to it.<BR/><BR/>Many eminent 20th century physicists and mathematicians have already arrived at the conclusion that subject and object are one, and that no symbolic language can ever fully be a mirror to reality.<BR/><BR/>Taking sanyas is hardly the right approach. One has to participate in the world to know oneself. One has to forge relationships with people, and put all of one's humanity to this test - the intellectual self, the animal self, the emotional self, the sexual self - all of these have to be felt and experienced through relationships before they are fully integrated. Everyone of us has all of these aspects in us, and developing just one aspect while suppressing the others, produces a fractured being.<BR/><BR/>Meditation, by the way, is not what people who claim they meditate, actually do. The meditationists are really only concentrating. Meditation is a complete loss of any I-centric seeing. It is a merging of the I and the It. There is no mediator in that experience. It is a trance state, a mystic state. <BR/><BR/>Love yourself, *then* watch yourself. Most people who think they are self-aware are watching themselves before they have learned to love themselves. That is a recipe for suicide. Love yourself totally. Dont accept any criticism from anyone, or any judgement. Nobody has a clue. Nobody is smarter than you are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com