Stuff exists—or appears to exist—that many of us detest as human beings. That’s obvious. What does this mean about Reality itself? It does demolish naive conceptions of Reality, for sure. Or of God. Same thing!
So what is the sophisticated answer that makes it okay? I’ve seen attempts, but they were less than convincing
“Okay” is a human judgment. Any story that makes it “okay” is a human story, invented, because “okay” does not exist in Reality, just as “not okay” does not exist.
So you aren’t convinced by this or that story. That only tells us something about you, not about Reality, and “you” don’t exist, in Reality. “You” are a concept, an illusion, not a reality. As am I.
You are looking for explanations of an illusion. It can be done, I’ll claim. That is, by the way, a reductionist claim. Right?
I will also claim that an experience, a state of being, is possible that doesn’t make “evil” okay, “evil” being shorthand for the “detestable,” but it leads to something else, an acceptance of Reality that also gives us maximum power to change, to create transformation. Call it clear thinking if you like, that leads to maximized probability for effective action, rooted in fundamental values.
What’s “fundamental”? Well it’s probably written in our DNA. It isn’t an absolute, it’s a quality of life as it evolved, so this is reductionist. Or there is something beyond Theostoa, there is SuperTheostoa, and I can’t tell the difference. Not yet, anyway, and it may not be possible.
Thanks for replying. Unfortunately I understand exactly nothing of what you wrote.
“Okay” is a human judgment. Any story that makes it “okay” is a human story, invented, because “okay” does not exist in Reality, just as “not okay” does not exist.
Certainly “okay” is not fundamental. And certainly any judgement and subsequent action of something being okay or not is going to come from an okayness-judging being (that would be humans), which may be flawed. (And whether “okay” comes from humans or not is confusing, but not germane to my point.)
But I’d be… surprised… if “okay” didn’t refer to a thing that exists. Marlene is happily married and raises her long-awaited child. Manda died at seven in a freak accident. Those situations evoke strong emotions in me. I desire to create more situations like the former and fewer like the latter. I desire to ally with those who share such desires, and oppose those who don’t. Is this mistaken?
“You” are a concept, an illusion, not a reality.
If you cut me, do I not bleed? Maybe the knife is a concept and the blood is an illusion, but I still want to know how the concept and illusion work.
You are looking for explanations of an illusion.
Well yeah, if you’re telling me “Don’t rage against malaria”, you’ve got some splainin away to do.
I will also claim that an experience, a state of being, is possible that doesn’t make “evil” okay, “evil” being shorthand for the “detestable,” but it leads to something else, an acceptance of Reality that also gives us maximum power to change, to create transformation.
I don’t understand the words and can’t parse the sentence. Does “detestable” mean the usual stuff—people starving to death or being burned alive or dropping their ice cream on the sidewalk and so on? If not, can you give some examples?
What do you mean by “acceptance”? Is it something like “Yes, I am lost in the wilderness—no whining about how terrifying that is, no denial about how likely I am to die, it’s time to focus on survival alone.”?
If so, that’s a beneficial attitude. But there’s no trust or security here—you know on a gut level that bad things happen, and want them to stop happening. And you don’t like the universe that lets such things happen. So unless you’re arguing for “Reality is evil, burn it” that’s either not what you mean or I’m missing a step.
“Okay” is a human judgment. Any story that makes it “okay” is a human story, invented, because “okay” does not exist in Reality, just as “not okay” does not exist.
So you aren’t convinced by this or that story. That only tells us something about you, not about Reality, and “you” don’t exist, in Reality. “You” are a concept, an illusion, not a reality. As am I.
You are looking for explanations of an illusion. It can be done, I’ll claim. That is, by the way, a reductionist claim. Right?
I will also claim that an experience, a state of being, is possible that doesn’t make “evil” okay, “evil” being shorthand for the “detestable,” but it leads to something else, an acceptance of Reality that also gives us maximum power to change, to create transformation. Call it clear thinking if you like, that leads to maximized probability for effective action, rooted in fundamental values.
What’s “fundamental”? Well it’s probably written in our DNA. It isn’t an absolute, it’s a quality of life as it evolved, so this is reductionist. Or there is something beyond Theostoa, there is SuperTheostoa, and I can’t tell the difference. Not yet, anyway, and it may not be possible.
Thanks for replying. Unfortunately I understand exactly nothing of what you wrote.
Certainly “okay” is not fundamental. And certainly any judgement and subsequent action of something being okay or not is going to come from an okayness-judging being (that would be humans), which may be flawed. (And whether “okay” comes from humans or not is confusing, but not germane to my point.)
But I’d be… surprised… if “okay” didn’t refer to a thing that exists. Marlene is happily married and raises her long-awaited child. Manda died at seven in a freak accident. Those situations evoke strong emotions in me. I desire to create more situations like the former and fewer like the latter. I desire to ally with those who share such desires, and oppose those who don’t. Is this mistaken?
If you cut me, do I not bleed? Maybe the knife is a concept and the blood is an illusion, but I still want to know how the concept and illusion work.
Well yeah, if you’re telling me “Don’t rage against malaria”, you’ve got some splainin away to do.
I don’t understand the words and can’t parse the sentence. Does “detestable” mean the usual stuff—people starving to death or being burned alive or dropping their ice cream on the sidewalk and so on? If not, can you give some examples?
What do you mean by “acceptance”? Is it something like “Yes, I am lost in the wilderness—no whining about how terrifying that is, no denial about how likely I am to die, it’s time to focus on survival alone.”?
If so, that’s a beneficial attitude. But there’s no trust or security here—you know on a gut level that bad things happen, and want them to stop happening. And you don’t like the universe that lets such things happen. So unless you’re arguing for “Reality is evil, burn it” that’s either not what you mean or I’m missing a step.