A Radical Skeptical Hypothesis: Someone’s mental life (including all his/her sensations and beliefs) is exactly the same as it is now (i.e., these sensations and beliefs are exactly like they are for standard observers). But these beliefs are all false.

There are various ways to illustrate RSH:

"The Matrix" (1999) -- 'Construct' Scenes:

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"The ( Read more... )

I'm posting it here for the benefit of my students in metaphysics / introduction to philosophy classes (i.e., so they have an easy access to some movie takes representing classical positions in the debate about the freedom of will, choice, determinism, and so on):

Everything begins with choice (or maybe not): Various characters depicted here ( Read more... )

According to the Zen lore, in the 5th or 6th century, an Indian monk Bodhidharma (named in Japan Daruma) crossed the high sees and established the Zen Buddhism in China. His life is surrounded by numerous legends. According to one, shortly after arriving to China, he had an audience with the emperor Wu, a well known benefactor of Buddhism. The ( Read more... )

I wonder, why do I return to photographing the same themes over and over and over again? Like the JFK causeway and the bridge, during the last Fall, or the dragon teeth, during the last Spring, or the Bob Hall Pier, this Summer.

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THE PARABLE OF THE ARROWThe Buddha was sitting in the park when his disciple Malunkyaputta approached him. Malunkyaputta had recently retired from the world and he was concerned that so many things remained unexplained by the Buddha. Was the world eternal or not eternal? Was the soul different from the body? Did the enlightened exist after death or ( Read more... )

In fact, I forget it all too often:
One comes across students who are predisposed to reject the idea of evolution, to have resistance to learning anything about Darwin and his theories. And I think given the nature of religious training, that's only understandable. What I try to tell my own students at the university level, and my teaching ( Read more... )

b_oki made this post on her live journal:
Tao Thought: Metaphor and Hua Hu Ching Verse Twenty-Six
Spirituality is
Applied poetry.
Metaphysics is
Applied metaphor.
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According to Buddhist philosophy, the final goal for all sentient beings is to attain pari-nirvana, a complete balance-peace free from all cravings, delusions, and suffering. But, on a positive side, what happens to a fully awakened person when he or she passes away? Shakyamuni, the "historical" Buddha implied that questions are ultimately ( Read more... )