I would love to see an explanation of the value of “enlightenment” as produced by Zen that distinguishes it from the kind induced by LSD or strokes. Funny how a temporary loss of function in one hemisphere can reveal so much deep meaning about the interconnectedness of everything. I’ve known a few acid junkies, and Taylor’s “insights” sound awfully familiar to me.
But wait, I’m pretty sure I’ve got both hemispheres online right now, and I understand perfectly well that “everything is interconnected, we are all one”, by way of participating in a shared reality. For me, this fact triggers associations with my concepts of causality, time, physical interaction, and the subjective experiences of other minds. For Taylor’s right hemisphere, this apparently triggers associations with… everything. Same data, different subjective “quantity of meaning”. I think of this overflow of internal associations as “semantic superstimulus”.
For most of us, learning is affective. Drawing a new line on your map is exciting, rewarding. But there are other stimulating things you can do with a map that have nothing to do with reflecting the territory. You can draw prettier icons for the places you’ve previously marked. You can draw highlights over your favorite lines and view the map under a black light. Your map’s accuracy remains unchanged (assuming you can still read it), but it looks so much cooler.
Is there any evidence that the various states of enlightenment are anything other than these semantic superstimuli? You claim that by wrestling with paradoxes, we
build within ourselves ever more complex models, ways of seeing
But koans aren’t the territory, so it sounds to me like you’re just having fun sprinkling glitter on your map. Is there any evidence that Zen actually helps us shed false beliefs, or even just anticipate different outcomes? If your best answer is “You can’t understand the evidence until you understand Zen”, then do us a favor and peddle your psychedelic snake oil elsewhere.
Is there any evidence that Zen actually helps us shed false beliefs, or even just anticipate different outcomes?
Meditators routinely report noticing their false beliefs during meditation, and an increased ability to notice their beliefs as beliefs even when not in meditation. That is, Zen practice is helpful in noticing that the map exists and being able to read it as a map.
I would love to see an explanation of the value of “enlightenment” as produced by Zen that distinguishes it from the kind induced by LSD or strokes. Funny how a temporary loss of function in one hemisphere can reveal so much deep meaning about the interconnectedness of everything. I’ve known a few acid junkies, and Taylor’s “insights” sound awfully familiar to me.
But wait, I’m pretty sure I’ve got both hemispheres online right now, and I understand perfectly well that “everything is interconnected, we are all one”, by way of participating in a shared reality. For me, this fact triggers associations with my concepts of causality, time, physical interaction, and the subjective experiences of other minds. For Taylor’s right hemisphere, this apparently triggers associations with… everything. Same data, different subjective “quantity of meaning”. I think of this overflow of internal associations as “semantic superstimulus”.
For most of us, learning is affective. Drawing a new line on your map is exciting, rewarding. But there are other stimulating things you can do with a map that have nothing to do with reflecting the territory. You can draw prettier icons for the places you’ve previously marked. You can draw highlights over your favorite lines and view the map under a black light. Your map’s accuracy remains unchanged (assuming you can still read it), but it looks so much cooler.
Is there any evidence that the various states of enlightenment are anything other than these semantic superstimuli? You claim that by wrestling with paradoxes, we
But koans aren’t the territory, so it sounds to me like you’re just having fun sprinkling glitter on your map. Is there any evidence that Zen actually helps us shed false beliefs, or even just anticipate different outcomes? If your best answer is “You can’t understand the evidence until you understand Zen”, then do us a favor and peddle your psychedelic snake oil elsewhere.
Mmmm… learningness: the feeling of learning, without the constraints of actually learning.
Meditators routinely report noticing their false beliefs during meditation, and an increased ability to notice their beliefs as beliefs even when not in meditation. That is, Zen practice is helpful in noticing that the map exists and being able to read it as a map.