tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post1502907848855602171..comments2024-02-13T12:50:30.457-05:00Comments on Rants Within the Undead God: The Art of Narrating Ourselves into Being Benjamin Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-90090341373638991862017-08-15T21:00:56.562-04:002017-08-15T21:00:56.562-04:00I can see how the above non-essentialist account o...I can see how the above non-essentialist account of the self might be consistent with the Buddhist view that the folk, egoistic presumptions about the self are based on illusions. I have some differences with Buddhism and Daoism, as I've explained in other articles (links below). <br /><br />The relevant question here is whether the self is so inessential and unreal that there's nothing there worth holding onto, so that our goal should be to learn to accept that the self is as good as nothing. Moksha would then be liberation from the illusion that the self exists as any sort of independent entity, and from the craving for everlasting life, which causes suffering. I'd disagree with Buddhists there. The "fiction" of the self is an emergent property, a character whose meaning is dependent on a story we tell ourselves to make sense of our experience, and that character has real causal impact on the inner and outer worlds.<br /><br />Which brings us to the issue of freewill. You raise some good questions. Have you had a look at the dialogue I wrote on freewill? (See the link below.) Roughly, the point I'd make is that if our genes and the environment (our upbringing, etc) can have impacts on our character, choices, and actions, then so can our higher self, so the question is only about the _degree_ of our self-control (autonomy, freewill). That higher self consists of the cerebral cortex and the higher-order (or meta) thoughts, which come to the fore in moments of introspection and introversion, which can alter our self-model, as opposed to being epiphenomenal. That inner growth or self-directed transformation can happen in therapy or after taking psychedelic, life-altering substances, for example. We can modify our character and our behaviour if we reflect hard enough and come to terms with whether we've done enough to live up to our ideals.<br /><br />I agree, though, that we shouldn't be so proud of ourselves, no matter what we do, because if we do have freewill, it is indeed narrow. We don't want to be like Donald Trump, who thinks he's the greatest businessman in the world, who thus has to lie to himself and to others about all the advantages he had in life for which he can take no credit. The proper attitude for an authentic, truly self-made person is based on humility and on an insistence on honour (coming to terms with harsh reality, including the extent to which we are indeed often puppets). We shouldn't boast, as if we have an immaterial core (a so-called soul or spirit) which has absolute control over our biological side, as if a homosexual person, for example, could will himself to overcome his hormones.<br /><br />http://rantswithintheundeadgod.blogspot.ca/2015/05/clash-of-worldviews-free-will-edition.html<br /><br />http://rantswithintheundeadgod.blogspot.ca/2011/11/buddhism-and-existential-angst.html<br /><br />http://rantswithintheundeadgod.blogspot.ca/2013/08/daoist-pantheism-natures-tragedy-and.htmlBenjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-30724057655289635152017-08-15T13:34:26.639-04:002017-08-15T13:34:26.639-04:00Your interpretation of the self as narration is ve...Your interpretation of the self as narration is very much in line with recent neurological findings and Buddhisms concept of non/not-self, that there is no core part of us but rather the self is an emergent phenomena arising from the interdependent impermenant interactions between internal components with the external, like memory, constantly being reassembled and reconstructed.<br /><br />The issue I see though is how is existential aesthetic rebellion and dignity possible when not only our self is ephereal and transient, removing the will part pf free will, but bound and written by our biology. As various studies into genetics have shown, such as with separated twins, our personalities appear heavily based in our biologu and formed very early in our lives, social conditioning snd instincts locking in whatever mold is allowed by our genes in early childhood. So, even in introspection, we're not really writing any unoaue story, as our self is already formed beyond our perception, and any change that occurs in it seems to stem from external social influence and circumstance.<br /><br />Furthermore, are not our standards for what is aesthetically heroic or dignified also alrgely defined by or against the greater social narratoves and archtypes?<br />Excalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17799840351611260555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-87301770726539438612017-08-15T10:06:06.805-04:002017-08-15T10:06:06.805-04:00Hi, Guthrie. The Millennials article is pretty sho...Hi, Guthrie. The Millennials article is pretty short, and I wrote it a few weeks ago, submitting it to Salon, but never heard back from them so I posted it here. It's tough finding an online magazine that's interested in my kind of writing.<br /><br />It's interesting that there is this view in cognitive science, which identifies the self as literally a sort of narrative. This view fits nicely with the Nietzschean aesthetic take on morality. So I put them together in this article. I think the narrative view fits also with the higher-order-thought theory of consciousness, which I've also presented on this blog.<br /><br />Next up is likely a dialogue on social justice warriors.Benjamin Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-49861701827948636342017-08-14T19:18:29.994-04:002017-08-14T19:18:29.994-04:00Very beautiful essay, I've always enjoyed your...Very beautiful essay, I've always enjoyed your take on the moral life as being primarily aesthetic and this was a pleasing restatement. I especially like the analogy of the book.<br /><br />2 essays in a week, to what do we owe the bounty?guthriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17921348890452371324noreply@blogger.com