Marsha:
You "improve the human situation" not with WHY's and HOW's but with maintaining a good and open heart. (Remember: head, hand & *heart*) Imho. - Betterness is relative. Some types of conventional betterness might be based on how well an experience agrees with ones most cherished assumptions (patterns). Or it might be based on a deeper insight that transcends all assumptions (patterns). For most of us, we volley between the two to different degrees. The Western mythos is structured on a subject/object foundation. It takes more than reading explanations to uproot these culturally dominated perceptions. That is why I suggest meditation/mindfulness; not as a mountaintop activity, but as a daily practices. There's insights to be gained, actual first-hand *experience*, that transcends explanation, and that's important for an empirically based metaphysics. (Please note that I didn't suggest replacing reading and explanation with meditation.). I do not think this point-o f-view negates preference and evolution. [Ron] First of all thank you for actually responding honestly, it is appreciated. Secondly I would argue that reading explanations does uproot culturally dominated perceptions, I mean we all praise Bob Pirsig for doing so and it seems that your reading the explanations of Buddhism does so also. Somehow you seem to be saying that betterness is merely a concept uniquely tied to "cherished assumptions" that experience, which when it conforms to it, is known as "good". Therefore the "concept" of betterness is relative (what actually is better) and only a socially created affirmation. Confining all morality to the social level. Negating it's function as an evolutionary force since it is merely a human social convention .Or it might be based on a deeper insight that transcends all assumptions (patterns). in other words the aestetic feeling we get when we like/dislike something (this explains the evolutionary force) You seem to be argueing against the use of the term in it's social context (which no one here is advocating) within the context of MoQ explanation (which no one is doing). Most educated societies need why's and how's or else it's a sort of social blind faith, we need to explain why and how using our hearts heads and minds is better for the human condition how else can we tell who is bullshitting and manipulating society for their own ends and who is not. What I don't like is the is the idea that people dont' need an explanation they should somehow just do it. thnx Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
