Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia; Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.
Post 25. 03/30/2018
BothAnd Buddhism
BothAnd Principle is the Middle Path
The BothAnd principle is similar to several ancient philosophical schemes for living a good life in the Goldilocks Zone. Perhaps best known is Aristotle's Golden Mean as the ideal of a virtuous character. It recommended that we try to stay in the "just right" sweet-spot, and to avoid extremes of "too-much" or "too-little" of any personal characteristic. For example Courage is a virtue, but it can range from Recklessness to Cowardice. Other early ethical systems that emphasized moderation were Stoicism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. Since the Axial Age [see next page], when the major world religious traditions emerged, most have also espoused a life of moral balance — avoiding the sins of excess, like Greed, Avarice & Lust, and of defect, such as Envy & Sloth.
Both theists and non-theistic Buddhists or Stoics are ex-horted to walk the Middle Path of moral moderation between extremes of Indulgence (e.g. drugs) and Asceticism (e.g. suicide). But a conventional moral life may range from excess concern for the afterlife — to the detriment of this life (e.g. Terrorists) — to the “what can god do for me” attitude of pious self-interest. So, balancing legitimate ethical interests requires trade-offs, and constant juggling of priorities.
The Buddha himself was not exactly a saint. As a prince, husband, and father, he rejected his duties to state, family, & society and turned to pure navel-gazing self-interest. In an existential funk, he pessimistically concluded that Life was a hopeless struggle (suffering, striving), so the logical solution would be suicide. But, for those who lack the will to kill themselves, he offered a less immediate and less permanent fix for the fix we're in. His solution involved training your sensitive Self to become numb, and not to care about the cares of this world. Instead, you focus on what you can control, yourself.
Meditation, in effect, is an act of will, where the conscious rational Superego (spiritual Self) learns to gain control over the subconscious emotional Id (physical Body). This less radical ticket to Nirvana is deemed preferable to drugs and suicide. Whereas opium addicts give-up what little Will they have, and suicides make a supreme effort of Will, Buddhists continue to live their sad little lives, and merely retreat occasionally into an altered state of mind somewhere between ordinary sleep and the euphoric soporific state of opium dreams. The Buddha's middle path of serious introspection is indeed preferable to suicide and drug addiction. But it's not the only way to deal with the disappointments of daily life1.
Advising people to turn away from the evil & sinful world is a common solution for religious teachings. As a gospel writer said, "Ye are in the world, but not of the world". But some look outward, in prayer and hopes of heaven, while Buddhists turn inward, through meditation, and dreams of non-existence in Nirvana. However, as disillusioned bodhis give-up on reality, and yearn for non-existence, a few "realists" engage directly with the world, and try to change it for the better. So, a contentious question remains,"better for whom?" Is it better to passively disengage from worldly concerns, or to actively work for improvements in the here & now? Is it preferable to pray for divine intervention, or to take responsibility for changing a bad situation?
Post 25 continued . . . click Next
Stoicism and Buddhism are two remarkably similar philosophies that were created independently thousands of miles apart. Buddhism was founded in present-day Nepal around 500 B.C and Stoicism began in Athens, Greece around 300 B.C. They both advocate getting happiness from an internal source, so that the ups and downs of life will not be your master. As philosopher and author Nassim Taleb once wrote on the similarities between the two: “A Stoic is a Buddhist with attitude.” https://dailystoic.com/stoicism-buddhism/
Stoic Moderation : Instead, it’s far more reliable to frame qualities in context of a spectrum using Aristotle’s “golden mean,” which explains that the range of virtue is found firmly in the middle, between excess and deficiency. https://dailystoic.com/stoic-range-virtue-defense-moderation/
Range of Virtue : Ambition: Between Lazy and Insatiable Empathy: Cold and Codependent Endurance: Fragile and Depleted Self-confidence: Insecure and Arrogant Adaptability: Rigid and Soft Self-sufficiency: Dependent and Isolated Discipline: Impetuous and Repressed Composure: Frenzied and Stagnant Calculated:Reckless and Timid Euthymia: Nihilism and Grand Narrative
If you don’t control your mind someone else will
Stoicism Cheat Sheet click here for popup
1. Meditation : Contemplative practices are useful tools for controlling unruly human thoughts & emotions. But simple relaxation and focusing techniques can be used without buying into the irrelevant religious belief systems of ancient pre-scientific societies. No magic mantras are required. Just patience & perseverance. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/olivia-rosewood/please-meditate-its-not-religious_b_791985.html
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