From: "Steve Armstrong" <s.armstrong-AT-utoronto.ca> To: <nietzsche-driftline.org-AT-lists.driftline.org> Subject: RE: [Nietzsche] 'I Am, Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 18:49:35 -0500 I think that Descartes' cogito sum is precisely correct and the Buddha point is to not be. The self is indeed embedded within culture; the not-self is not. I find "I am, therefore I think" a true, but misleading statement - Descartes gives us a logical entailment, Koenigsberg responds with a causal connection. Steve Armstrong www.wegway.com -----Original Message----- From: nietzsche-driftline.org-bounces-AT-lists.driftline.org [mailto:nietzsche-driftline.org-bounces-AT-lists.driftline.org] On Behalf Of Orion Anderson Sent: September 21, 2005 12:05 PM To: nietzsche-AT-driftline.org Subject: [Nietzsche] 'I Am,Therefore I Think': Separating from the Symbolic Order Just Published: 'I AM, THEREFORE I THINK': SEPARATING FROM THE SYMBOLIC ORDER by Richard Koenigsberg Whereas many currents in contemporary thought emphasize the embeddedness of the subject within culture, Buddhism focuses on that part of the self that is not bound to the symbolic order. Buddhism constitutes a method or practice for separating; detaching from culture. Buddhism embraces rather than shies away from the encounter with emptiness or non-being. Within the space of emptiness, language and the symbolic order dissolve, allowing one to return to silence-the essence of being. Buddhism compares the self to a vast, empty sky. Ideas and thoughts are like clouds. Why cling to each passing cloud? From the space of the empty sky one may observe ideas and beliefs that inhabit the self without declaring that these ideas and beliefs are the essence of self. From within the space of emptiness, one may examine the nature and structure of the ideas and objects with which one had become identified. Buddhism represents a psychological method whose purpose is to facilitate disidentification with the symbolic order. Buddhism nurtures a place within the mind where ideologies and the discourses of society lose their power. JOIN THE LISTSERV ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION OF IDEOLOGY: Simply send on e-mail to oanderson-AT-ideologiesofwar.com _____ The complete paper by Dr. Richard Koenigsberg is available as an on-line publication. To read: 'I AM, THEREFORE I THINK': SEPARATING FROM THE SYMBOLIC ORDER PLEASE <http://ideologiesofwar.com/papers/rk_think.htm> CLICK HERE or visit: <http://ideologiesofwar.com/papers/rk_think.htm> http://ideologiesofwar.com/papers/rk_think.htm _____ 'I AM, THEREFORE I THINK': SEPARATING FROM THE SYMBOLIC ORDER According to Buddhism, the self comes into being, not by virtue of one's status as a "speaking being," but to the extent that one pays close attention to one's posture and breathing. One focuses on the immediate moment-one's thoughts and feelings as they occur in the immediate moment-and gradually becomes aware of one's existence. Self derives from mindfulness. French philosophers with their emphasis upon language and symbolic processes descend from Descartes who declared, "I think, therefore I am." Far greater numbers of people in the civilized world believe it is more accurate to state, "I am, therefore I think." To analyze ideologies of destruction and self-destruction, it is necessary to become capable of dis-identifying with them; of experiencing them as separate from the self. It is not productive to "fight" an ideology. In waging war against an ideology, one becomes part of it. War against the ideology becomes a struggle against part of the self. It is necessary to distance oneself from "good" ideologies (those that one believes in) as well as from "evil" ideologies. Just because everyone else in society attaches to an ideology doesn't mean one has to do so oneself. Just because everyone believes that something is true, this doesn't mean it is true. Just because everyone believes that there is no truth this doesn't mean that truth doesn't exist. Before Galileo, most people believed that the sun revolved around the earth. _____ To join the listserv IDEOLOGIES OF WAR AND TERROR, please send an e-mail to Orion Anderson at <mailto:oanderson-AT-ideologiesofwar.com> oanderson-AT-ideologiesofwar.com _______________________________________________ List address: nietzsche-AT-driftline.org Admin interface: http://lists.driftline.org/listinfo.cgi/nietzsche-driftline.org _______________________________________________ List address: nietzsche-AT-driftline.org Admin interface: http://lists.driftline.org/listinfo.cgi/nietzsche-driftline.org
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