Buddhist ideas polluting science & reason: free will, the self, and consciousness

Found this.

Sam Harris’ Buddhist Bullshit
http://chrisdierkes.com/sam-harris-buddhist-bullshit/

I agree that Harris's general views on the brain, free will, and the self may well all be warped by and clouded by his exposure to Buddhism.

Listen to the *whole tone* of Harris's work on free self, consciousness, and the self, and one general path emerges: toward Buddhism masturbatory obsession with getting *all things* out of your head, to find some sort of "peace."

But Harris's views on free will & the self are in my view myopic & simplistic.

When the "software" of the brain is running, the "self" does exist. We feel it does. Is that an illusion? No. Simply because the software or wetware or whatever can be turned off partially doesn't mean that when it is up and running it's an "illusion." No, it's not an illusion. It's quite real, and quite physical.

Free Will and The Self Are Not Illusions!
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2014/11/free-will-and-self-are-not-illusions.html

And found this today:

"...Much more dubious is Buddhism's claim that perceiving yourself as in some sense unreal will make you happier and more compassionate..."

"...Even if you achieve a blissful acceptance of the illusory nature of your self, this perspective may not transform you into a saintly bodhisattva, brimming with love and compassion for all other creatures..."

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2003/02/buddhist_retreat.html

Ha ha!!! So this is Harris's problem! Even someone like Harris can have his views warped by a religion - one he likes very much, apparently.

I like a lot of what Harris has done in debates, but talk of free will & the self being illusions, well, smells a bit too much of Buddhism, AKA a religion.

Additional thoughts on Buddhism:
the violence of Buddhism - relativism, cult of personality, ignorance, & pacifism
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-violence-of-buddhism-relativism.html

Apologetics, Philosophy, Reason and Logic - another de facto atheist religion & leftist echo chamber

Atheism Is A Religion series...

Got booted today from the facebook group "Apologetics, Philosophy, Reason and Logic," in response to the following post:

Amerindian Culture condemns an 11 year old to death, today, now, in 2014
http://jonathanshome.blogspot.com/2014/11/amerindian-culture-condemns-11-year-old.html

Two admins on the group, one named Mark Wittgruber (the apparent group founder), and a Sean Michael Carter took particular special exception to my presence on the group, when I had the audacity to do the following:

As an atheist, challenge the general leftist stance of atheists.

The two men were essentially a tag team engaging in an admin enabled pile on.

Threatening to kick if one refuses to kow tow to the cherished views of the leaders.

Not really engaging in a debate or discussion.

Instead engaging in abusive attacks - when they find your views particularly inconvenient.

Hey, when admins do it, it's ok right?

Not really an atmosphere for an honest & open discussion, to say the least!

This is not new.

Actually this type of activity by admins on facebook is very common.

But it's also a sad commentary on human nature.

Religion is so damn natural (ref Daniel Dennett) that even atheists cannot help (!) but form one when they gather together in groups. Very hard for them to avoid!

The apparent founder of the group appears to be an atheist. But he has no problem with engaging in personal attacks when it suits his apparent needs to have a playground centered around HIS questions, and HIS thoughts, ensuring that HIS beliefs are not questioned or challenged, and that's it.

Here's some of the supposed rules of the group in question:

1. No preaching.
2. No personal attacks.
3. No politics.
4. Do not ban the admins
5. Enjoy the discussion!

The admins of the group are free to break rules two and five.

And so, onward.

Atheists in general don't value free speech any more than anyone else.

And in fact, if they're on the cultural left they usually value it LESS than the cultural right does. A lot less.

Liberals often cannot wrap their heads around problems with their own culture.

I'm generally speaking an economic liberal and a social moderate. A 9/11 liberal. A Christopher Hitchens liberal.

But I have no use for fools, even liberal ones, who can't handle deeper discussions about ALL issues, without restriction (other than, perhaps, a banning of commercialized spam).

Things are related. There's synergies between views. Not everything is one way or the other. Politics and religion are joined, even for the liberal.

When the Unitarian Universalist uses his religion to back his actions, he doesn't see a problem with that. But he gets very upset with a right wing person refers to his religion as something of value.

Apologetics, Philosophy, Reason and Logic - not a debate group nor a regular discussion group. A group where the admins have no concept of what the word "debate" actually means. Actively telling participants what they are allowed to say in their replies. Using threats against those who refuse to comply (threats to ban & kick). Using petty expletives to refer to posts they don't agree with. And so on.

It's par for the course, a course I've seen several times on Facebook.

Atheists don't like their beliefs challenged, by fellow atheists. They get just as upset as any right wing religious person - and they will happily engage in heresy trials & excommunication against those who challenge their beliefs in any meaningful way.

To the Mormon wife whose husband is 'addicted to porn:' 12 *real* steps that will help!

To the Mormon wife whose husband is "addicted to porn:" 12 *real* steps that will help!

In response to: "Doug Robinson: One woman's crusade against the evils of porn" in the Deseret News. http://goo.gl/e0m9SL

The Mormon position on porn is basically this: Let us fit porn and human sexuality into our addiction paradigm so that we can exercise control over you.

The LDS 12 step program:
http://addictionrecovery.lds.org/bc/content/arp/content/manuals/ARPGuide_English_36764.pdf

Bullshit.

Here's 12 steps for you, if your husband is viewing too much porn in your view:

Step 1: Stop assuming that the act of viewing human sexuality online is, in an of itself, something bad.

Step 2: Stop threatening your man with divorce over the issue.

Step 3: Stop wearing your Mormon underwear at night, and especially during sex. Go nude, 100% nude, at night, in bed, with your man, and during sex. Period.

Step 4: Engage in oral sex, and encourage your man to do the same.

Step 5: Don't be afraid to touch your man's genitals at night in bed.

Step 6: Be sexual with your man, all the time. Give him cues during the day, and be affectionate at night.

Step 7: Find types of porn which are more a.) educational, b.) produced by amateurs, and c.) does not require payment, and d.) may be produced by regular people as opposed to "porn stars." Watch these videos with your husband, and see if what you're seeing can give you some ideas of fun things to try.

Step 8: Stop asking that your children confess to some Mormon bishop regarding masturbation.

Step 9: Set boundaries for leaders in your religion. Do not let them pry into your private life, and especially not into your sexual life or the sexual lives of your children who're coming of age.

Step 10: Stop teaching your children, your husband, and yourself to be afraid of sexual thoughts & feelings - of *lust* - of being *an animal*. We ARE animals. Get used to it. Live with it. Learn to love it.

Step 11: If your man is engaging in video sex chats with other women online, ask him to stop. Tell him you love him and want him to be happy. Tell him that you're ok with watching some types of porn online, but that video sex chats with other women go too far.

Step 12: Reject 12 step programs which assume you can "give something away" to some fanciful god. You're it baby. You're god. I'm god. He's god. She's god. Sex is god. Love is god. And the only immortality you will ever experience is through having children via sex. So, sex is good, and it's there for very good reason. It's there to be enjoyed, for good reason. The Internet has brought new opportunities and new challenges to what it means and is to be human. We all agree that we need to keep away from the thieves while embracing the good. The same goes with porn online. Get an ad blocker plugin for your web browser. Block your kids viewing as you feel appropriate. But, realize also that some value can be had from exposure to more full details about human sexuality, with less shame, fear, ultimatums, and threats. Move forward in love.

July 31, 2013

Psychics are charlatans who prey on the gullible and uneducated

Psychics are, generally speaking, charlatans who use word games and common sense to prey upon the gullible and uneducated. Good work if you can get it, but let's not pretend that it should ever be taken seriously.

Good videos:

By Richard Dawkins:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1ejmKC_DiM

Derren Brown - longer interview - part 1 of 6:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idVxRE8uM-A

Derren Brown on faith healers - similar charlatans to psychics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYjgeayfYPI

"...where hope is peddled at the price."

James Randi exposes James Hydrick:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlfMsZwr8rc

BBC on the issue - exposes three mediums:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4qGfNViVN8

Penn & Teller:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQnqRaVT9tY

Psychics are leeches, sometimes self-deceived, often damaging, and always either wrong or right by fucking happenstance.

Similarly, we can easily replace the title "psychic" with "cultish religious founder." Same people. Same difference. Same result.