Sure, Snoop. I'd go along with that, as well as the converse: "non-materialism" being a legitmate owrldview but not the full picture.How about materialism being a legitimate world-view, but not the full picture?
s.
Sure, Snoop. I'd go along with that, as well as the converse: "non-materialism" being a legitmate owrldview but not the full picture.How about materialism being a legitimate world-view, but not the full picture?
s.
...Charles Tart, a psychologist who has studied paranormal experiences for 50 years has compiled how he believes paranormal research sustantially places that worldview into doubt in his book, "The End of Materialism".
That's about how I see it, Snoopy. I figure using a diverse set of philosophies, approaches, and methodologies is the most useful way to inquire about the universe.
Sure, Snoop. I'd go along with that, as well as the converse: "non-materialism" being a legitmate owrldview but not the full picture.earl
Oh! There I go again, falling prey to my materialistic ways... always looking for a plausible explanation before reaching for inexplicable one.
Um...I think that is called enabling one's magnetosphere. Kind of like tossing iron filings into the air and watching as they are attracted to and reveal the lines of the magnetic influence of the individual. Quite startling to suddenly perceive.
By the way, this is a real picture, taken from one of the US Apollo missions, of the earth's magnetosphere...not an artist's rendition.
Oh! There I go again, falling prey to my materialistic ways... always looking for a plausible explanation before reaching for inexplicable one.
If I had been posting here through my 20's you would have seen someone a lot more like PoO, Andrew/Taijasi, or, yes!, even you EarlBut as my database of information gleaned from science journals and books increased in volume and I applied the methodology of critical evaluation into more areas of my thinking these fragile beliefs I once had were all shown to be self-indulgences, and clearly painted through the filter of my own trained neural bias.
Gaia is an invisible space octopus!! Hmmmm.... maybe time to start that business, erm I mean religion. "Gaian Temple of the Magnetic Space Octopus"...Um...
New data on Earth's magnetosphere reveals the invisibleBut heck, the title of the article is Seeing the Invisible![]()
[SIZE=-1]Right[/SIZE][SIZE=-1]: An artist's "cartoon" hints at the complexity and vastness of the magnetosphere. The structures present are shaped by the Solar wind, and magnetospheric "storms" can affect communications, power grids, and other important aspects of modern life on Earth.[/SIZE]
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Gaia is an invisible space octopus!! Hmmmm.... maybe time to start that business, erm I mean religion. "Gaian Temple of the Magnetic Space Octopus"...
Pre order the DVD of my first sermon now!! Only $45.00 (+ $9.99 sales tax and postage)
Naw, it's the Flying Spaghetti Monster.![]()
Gaia is an invisible space octopus!!
This is part and parcel of my belief of 'it is all a miracle and there are no miracles', and 'there is no supernatural, it is all natural'** I firmly believe that a large degree of spiritual experiences, so-called psychic phenomena, and a range of other unexplained events can be at least partially described by the actions of electro-magnetism (see above). In that regard, I am not simply trying to validate the spiritual experience, but feel there is a clear scientifically testable set of mechanisms in play.
That's about how I see it, Snoopy. I figure using a diverse set of philosophies, approaches, and methodologies is the most useful way to inquire about the universe.
And so, as some of you will remember, I state that I have no beliefs.
For further consideration, Snoopy-an essay against the materialist view of mind by a Buddhist in the Western Buddhist Review:Then in the spirit of cordiality I shall agree with your agreement.
Materialism, which is the perspective in which causality belongs, is an eminently useful tool. The more lights that are shone on an object from different angles, the more complete our understanding is likely to be of said object, I think (nearly said believe there).
s.
They are indeed!! And one of the most numerous predatory animals in the oceans to boot.Cephalopods are seriously interesting as a group as well - communication via colour and patterns, with some species being highly intelligent...
Yeh that one is a bit of a scuttlefish (sic).Seriously, how fluffy would people get about spiritual issues if they felt that angels looked more like giant squid then beautiful people with feathers?
The Tao says there are no untruths. Only greater truths and lesser truthsHence the joys of blind anthropomorphism. We can't handle the truth!
Haphazard.What would you call your relationship to materialism?
Haphazard.What would you call your relationship to existentialism?
s.
And Tao holds no belief? Yeah, like that old chestnut is going to fly.earl
While, perhaps I have not experienced enough of your posted views CZ to know if you subscribe to a materialist philosophy, many of Tao's have most certainly directly and indirectly suggested he did. So, if I am in error in seeing you as a Tao-istWhat I find interesting earl, is the desire to label Tao (and I perhaps) as "materialists" and then to present an essay that supposedly describes what we think and shoots down the basis for our mistaken perceptions and concepts.
Until I'd taken part in these posts I had never heard of materialism, never attended a materialist meeting, subscribed to a materialist newsletter or had my car washed at a materialist fund-raiser. I have now only an inkling of what a materialist is supposed to believe. I even had to look it up to get a definition...
MaterialismThe only thing that exists is matter? Does that include energy? I suppose it does if E=MC2. So matter must also include anti-matter, electromagnetism, stong force, weak force, gravity, dark matter, dark energy, quantum particles, Higgs Boson particles, neutrinos, quarks, strings and space-time itself. Matter would also include any number of phenomena that we haven't measured or discovered yet. Twenty years ago, dark matter was not a widely known component of the universe. What new discoveries will we make in the next twenty?
The philosophy of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter, and is considered a form of physicalism. Fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena (including consciousness) are the result of material interactions; therefore, matter is the only substance. As a theory, materialism belongs to the class of monist ontology. As such, it is different from ontological theories based on dualism or pluralism. For singular explanations of the phenomenal reality, materialism would be in contrast to idealism and to spiritualism.
So do I believe that the only thing that exists is matter? Yes! The fact that it exists makes it matter or energy. If string theory is true (that's a big if) a string is theorized to be 10^20 times smaller than the diameter of the proton*. But that is still matter. You don't have to dream up magical energies of states of matter, they already exist and we have only begun the process of discovering what is out there. Show me something that does not contain mass or energy and I'll be happy to change my mind.
Which leads us to physicalism**...
Physicalism is a philosophical position holding that everything which exists is no more extensive than its physical properties;I not only have no idea what this really means, but it certainly sounds like [bleep] to me. How anybody could claim that everything that exists is no more extensive than its physical properties is beyond me. I don't know the full extent of anything. Anybody claiming to know this is dwelling in the world of speculation. So if that is enough to disqualify me as a materialist, then let the record stand.
My point? You do both Tao and I a disservice by labeling us as something that we are not (sorry to be speaking for you Tao) and then shooting down the philosophical label that we've been assigned, but do not hold. That is known as the straw man fallacy and I for one must call you on it. If you want to know what we believe, ask us. If you wish to argue about a position we hold then debate us. I'd be much happier defending a position that I actually hold instead of one you imagine I do.
*Superstrings, Michael Green, Scientific American Sept 86
*Physicalism, Wikipedia
But the posting of the essay was in relationship to Snoopy's comments about causality and materialism given he is avowedly of a Buddhist orientation-as you are I believe. earl
Duly noted. I however am liberal and allergic to cats. Not "theistic" in the usual sense of the term/not Buddhist in the usual sense of the term.Count me in as an avowed...
• Buddhist
• Atheist
• Liberal
• Science Lover
• Cat Fancier