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Pastimes : The Philosopher's Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: denizen48 who wrote (36)	6/7/2011 9:02:19 PM
From: koan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71

<<Existentialism has nothing to do with science.>> With all due respect, I do not think you understand existentialism. Which I have found is quite normal, even for the best and brightest. It took me many years to understand it. I even got an A in a class in existentialism and didn't understand it at the time, looking back. And neither Zen or existentialism can be explained directly. A person has to see it for themselves, within their minds eye. That is why Zen masters do not ever explain it; and also why high school kids cannot learn it. Existentialism has everything to do with science, just as Zen does, in its own way. It has to do with seeing reality. Admittedly, in the end a subjective reality, but still reality as an abstract concept. I told both my daughter's they cannot consider themselves fully educated until they understand existentialism. The good thing about existentialism is that whereas it points to a life without objective meaning, it also fortifies one's soul to know the truth of things. That we chimps can figure something out so abstract. E.g. 99% of the world believe in some sort of religion. All religions are make believe myths. There has never been one single piece of scientific evidence to confirm any relious belief. That is why Sartre titled his big book on existentialism Nausea: "the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you realize your own mortality" (paraphrased from memory a long time ago.) That is why Darwin's Origin of Species was so important to the big thinkers. It explained the truth of where we came from and dispells the myths about creation; oh, and why Kirkegaard could not have been an existentialist. Many of my most educated friends still do not understand existentialism. My older daughter went to UC Berkeley and Loyola Law school and I don't think she really fully grasps it yet. Not many do.

To: denizen48 who wrote (36)	6/29/2011 11:45:01 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71

What is our reality? From our human perspective, our reality is both based upon events beyond our control (nature and cosmic forces) as well as the imposition of our will upon altering and contouring that natural environment according to our aspirations, dreams (which may be a nightmare to others), and actions. I like to believe that our current dreams may one day become a future reality. It's the stuff of science fiction, which often later becomes science "fact". Hawk