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naraburns  nihil supernum  11mo ago (text post)   3947 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for April 30, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Going off of @George_E_Hale’s post below, I’m curious to gather a list of effort posts that aren’t the norm on here, which people would like to write on but don’t have the time.

I’d be happy to take up the challenge of writing a few into an effort post, with or without credit for the idea depending on what folks want. I’m sure other effortposters would be down too. Feel free to reply or just DM me if anything jumps out to you.

Been wanting to write an effortpost on how I arrived at my current conception of God and consciousness and why I think it’s unfortunate people in the West largely seem to think Abrahamic theism and materialist atheism are the only options. With some commentary on how I think more people could arrive at similar conclusions through better understanding of ontology/epistemology and how this could shape how we approach meaning and ethics. I’m actually convinced a significant % (maybe 10%) of intellectuals will come around to this understanding within 30 years or so and it could have a dramatic positive impact on the world. But it will take significant cultural/intellectual shifts to integrate this understanding properly. Complicated topic and not sure I could do it justice (or that anyone would want to read it) but the main reason I’ve avoided writing about it is fear of coming off as an evangelist in this space.

Eh, there are plenty of Christian evangelists here I wouldn’t worry too much.

I’m assuming based on your name you believe in a more Hindu/Buddhist ontology?

Only in the sense that the very basic metaphysics of the Vedas (Brahman, Atman, Maya, and the relationship between those three concepts) is pretty much 100% correct. Indian philosophy then goes on to layer a bunch of esoteric concepts onto that ontology that actively detract from this understanding that I think range from just wrong (reincarnation) to morally repugnant (karma).

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