Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2005 04:19:33 -0500 From: NZ <pretzelworld-AT-gmail.com> To: deleuze-guattari-AT-lists.driftline.org Subject: Re: [D-G] color In 1908 November 2005, Washington DC Dali Lama speaks at Society of Neuroscience OK, There seems to be enough interest to start a dedicated thread. Semiconscious V, would you mind re-posting your link here? I agreed with your letter. I especially liked that you called out the circular reasoning: "We shouldn't study meditation because it is not well researched." Good man. I am a member of the Society for Neuroscience and will be gladly attending this year's convention. I plan on attending the Dalai Lama'a talk. Some potential delegates are protesting his appearance, however, suggesting science and religion should not be mixed and declaring his views to be in 'poor scientific taste'. Neuroscientist Jianguo G. Gu has reportedly started a petition against the Dalai Lama's lecture. If it's true that Jianguo G. Gu has started the petition and that the main reason is that "science and religion should not be mixed" then its pretty odd that his Journal, Molecular Pain has Yin-Yang's all over it. I'm suddenly feeling this fuss may have more to do with politics than religion or science. I received an email 2 days ago asking me to sign the petition mentioned here. I was made to believe the talk was created to bridge cultural and scientific venues.I read through the signatures and [knew for a fact that] a number of those signing do not support it. I was made to believe the talk was created to bridge cultural and scientific venues. The Society for Neuroscience have defended their decision and noted that the Dalai Lama will not be talking about 'religion or politics'. I've heard the Dali Lama speak, and I agree with Semiconscious V. He won't abuse his time in front of the microphone. He'll stay on topic. I'm all for bringing together insights from science, philosophy, culture and spirituality. I find the neuoscience behind "spiritual phenomena" particularly interesting. The Dali Lama's remark in this NYTimes artical (oct.2nd,2005) kind of bothered me. I quote it here : "it would be hard to find much in common between Pope Benedict XVI and Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. Yet both have recently expressed an unhappiness with evolutionary science that would be a comfort to the Pennsylvania school board now in a court fight over its requirement that the hypothesis of a creator be part of the science curriculum." (more quoted...) "This is a point I intend to make when I speak at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience today in Washington. I will suggest that how science relates to wider humanity is no longer of academic interest alone. " (more quoted...) "just as the world of business has been paying renewed attention to ethics, the world of science would benefit from more deeply considering the implications of its own work." There was an interesting question put forth by one of the audience members after his talk. It asked what his views were on animal testing, given that he advocates compassion for all beings. He stated that one should only use animals where there is no other way to find the answers to our questions, in other words to minimize our reliance upon animal testing. He also said that we should become more aware of our intentions for our research, and pursue animal research only when it offers the possibility of decreasing the suffering for a greater number of beings. When asked what he thought should be done about the teaching of science and religion in US public schools and his views on intelligent design, he politely declined to answer by saying he didnt know the answer to these important questions. I hope that the group will forgive my comment on the newswriter's accuracy. I think having accurate facts is relevant to any serious discussion Fact: Dzogchen buddhism requires the highest standards of critical thinking and skepticism. Monks in this tradition go over the words of the Buddha and attempt to discriminate between those that are consistent with what we now know about the universe through the scientific method and those that are inconsistent. Fact: HHDL has thrown in not with creationists and pro-lifers, but with stem-cell researchers saying that anything we can do to eradicate suffering we must do. The DL strongly supports stem cell research. Fact: HHDL says if science disproves particular doctrines of Buddhadharma, Buddhadharma must change. Conversely, the Roman Catholic church one recently acknowledged that Galileo was right and Church doctrine was wang. Personally, I do not believe in any kind of mystic energy or presence that guides or influences our lives. However, I meditate on a regular basis.Meditation is real and requires no faith to perform. At least, not faith in anything supernatural. My experience in DC so far has been very strange. Between the Dalai Lama's talk, and the monolithic presence of government, I have been giving more thought to working on scientce relations with government, policy, society, and religion at some point in my career. There seems to be a serious lack of scientific leadership and presence in our country right now, at a time when science is coming under attack. _______________________________________________ List address: deleuze-guattari-AT-driftline.org Info: http://lists.driftline.org/listinfo.cgi/deleuze-guattari-driftline.org Archives: www.driftline.org
Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005