Great essay that reminds me of an old Buddhist monk in Thailand telling me, "words are not reality & only experience reveals the nature of being." Which perplexed me for years, in the context of the root meaning of the word spiritual, being breath. And my own fear of the negative aspect of truth. In the context of this statement on the non-conscious nature of our human motivation: "The attempt to regulate affect—to minimize unpleasant feelings and to maximize pleasant ones—is the driving force in human motivation." — Alan N. Schore, Attachment and the regulation of the right brain.
A statement that for me at least, speaks to the practical wisdom of recognizing my own fear of the negative aspect of truth, in the context of not being as consciously aware of reality, as the heady mix of imagination & language, seduces me into believing I am. And a fear that prompted a question to an LLM, about the truth of humanity's self-knowledge: "Is it true that the only thing most humans know about their brain, is the word-symbol, brain?" Please contemplate the response in the context of practical wisdom & the negative aspect of self-truths, about NOT knowing HOW we actually do being human:
(While it is a popular, philosophical sentiment that the "brain is the only organ that named itself", it is not literally true that the word-symbol "brain" is the only thing most humans know about it.
However, the statement reflects a broader truth about public understanding of neuroscience. Here is a breakdown of what most people know versus what they don't:
General Knowledge: Most people are aware that the brain is located in the head, acts as the "control center" for the body, processes thoughts/emotions, and is responsible for memory.
Common Misconceptions: A prevalent myth (the "10% myth") is that humans only use a small fraction of their brains, which is false—people use nearly all of their brain over the course of a day.
The "Unknown" Aspect: The sentiment that we know little about the brain is partly accurate. While scientists know a great deal about brain anatomy (structure), they are still far from fully understanding how the brain functions as an information-processing system or how consciousness emerges.
Why the Saying Persists
The idea that we only know the "word" for the brain stems from the fact that while we interact with our thoughts constantly, the internal mechanisms of how those thoughts are generated remain largely a mystery to the average person.
In short, while humans know what the brain does (thoughts, movement, senses), they generally do not know how it does it.) A Google AI Overview
"It might be argued that most people from time to time act in a manner contrary to common sense while being sufficiently well-informed to know they are doing so, thus that common sense is not enough for wise behaviour."
About Wise behavior:
I once sat in on a grad-level seminar that was examining the theoretical underpinnings of probability theory. The main topic was transitivity in sports outcome preference. The Logic was that if A can beat B, and B can beat C, then A can beat C. But public sentiment often favored A can beat B, B can beat C, and C can beat A. The questions were, why do people do that and what can 'we' do about it either in the Theory or in the public awareness.
The standard Logical case was the National Football League (American NFL). The standard popular case was Rock-Paper-Scissors. It seemed up through the end of the seminar that no answer was forthcoming.
Now, I was not enrolled in the seminar and so kept to myself about it all. But I did observe that none of the attendees had noticed that the American NFL does not bill itself as a "Sport" and therefore was not required by law to be "Fair." It is billed instead as "Entertainment," the same category in which one finds (scripted) Professional Wrestling.
But it was indeed an interesting seminar in the Theory of Probability, apart from that little problem.
"... It conveys the notion that wisdom may sometimes be impractical"
I might have thought they are implying that much of what we who reside outside the hallowed halls consider other-wise should be relegated to the status of childish nonsense, so that the wisdom of certified, true, and tenured 'Lovers of Wisdom' can be more easily promulgated as likewise 'certified, true,' and of course 'practical' by duly appointed and certified peer-reviewing committees composed of said hallowed Lovers. --
Granting that there are exceptions here and there under which a select few certified WiseMen, WiseWomen, and WiseOtherwise, may at times be permitted to excurse among we the unlearned to preach, ...umm shall we say..., 'oddities of other sorts.' (But not without penalties, naturally.)
But lest you think that I hereby exhibit a low opinion of the hallowed, well, fear not! Why, some of my best friends are closet philosophers.
If there is one failure we could point to that explains everything else, it is mankind's failure to understand the line between good and evil. If you do not comprehend precisely where the line is and why it is where it is, can you know what is right or wrong?
Well, ok.I admit it took me about 55 years and caused me to go from atheist to Christian. but that is only because we are all spiritually sick and live in what is technically an insane asylum. That crazy people living in a demonic system does not mean the difference between fight and wrong is deep knowledge, it just means we are all coocoo crazy.
But you are right, we all know where the line is. We are just to crazy to think we need to live as if it existed. It is not our knowledge that is the problem, it is our morality.
Did you know the Japanese teach their kids how to be a good citizen before they bother teaching them other subjects. For two years they get behind us and for the rest of their life they live in an orderly society, and they are pagans.
Well, my view would be that to know what right and wrong really are we must understand the nature of reality and consciousness. Such knowledge is in us. but few discover it. Most people have a distant intuition or theory, Such knowledge doesn't come from learning to be a good citizen. albeit it will make us one.
That is a guess. The you are critical of what others do without knowing the answer to the question you pose. You also claim we need to understand the nature of reality and consciousness. There are only two possible answers, it only requires us to pick one or the other. But what you manifest is the total confusion and stagnation of someone who already has decided the nature of reality but has also realized his view makes no sense, which means nothing makes sense to him.
However, you have managed to make it impossible to give up what you already know is incoherent, I speak of physical reality. I am guessing you have got about as far as Descartes.
Great essay that reminds me of an old Buddhist monk in Thailand telling me, "words are not reality & only experience reveals the nature of being." Which perplexed me for years, in the context of the root meaning of the word spiritual, being breath. And my own fear of the negative aspect of truth. In the context of this statement on the non-conscious nature of our human motivation: "The attempt to regulate affect—to minimize unpleasant feelings and to maximize pleasant ones—is the driving force in human motivation." — Alan N. Schore, Attachment and the regulation of the right brain.
A statement that for me at least, speaks to the practical wisdom of recognizing my own fear of the negative aspect of truth, in the context of not being as consciously aware of reality, as the heady mix of imagination & language, seduces me into believing I am. And a fear that prompted a question to an LLM, about the truth of humanity's self-knowledge: "Is it true that the only thing most humans know about their brain, is the word-symbol, brain?" Please contemplate the response in the context of practical wisdom & the negative aspect of self-truths, about NOT knowing HOW we actually do being human:
(While it is a popular, philosophical sentiment that the "brain is the only organ that named itself", it is not literally true that the word-symbol "brain" is the only thing most humans know about it.
However, the statement reflects a broader truth about public understanding of neuroscience. Here is a breakdown of what most people know versus what they don't:
General Knowledge: Most people are aware that the brain is located in the head, acts as the "control center" for the body, processes thoughts/emotions, and is responsible for memory.
Common Misconceptions: A prevalent myth (the "10% myth") is that humans only use a small fraction of their brains, which is false—people use nearly all of their brain over the course of a day.
The "Unknown" Aspect: The sentiment that we know little about the brain is partly accurate. While scientists know a great deal about brain anatomy (structure), they are still far from fully understanding how the brain functions as an information-processing system or how consciousness emerges.
Why the Saying Persists
The idea that we only know the "word" for the brain stems from the fact that while we interact with our thoughts constantly, the internal mechanisms of how those thoughts are generated remain largely a mystery to the average person.
In short, while humans know what the brain does (thoughts, movement, senses), they generally do not know how it does it.) A Google AI Overview
"It might be argued that most people from time to time act in a manner contrary to common sense while being sufficiently well-informed to know they are doing so, thus that common sense is not enough for wise behaviour."
About Wise behavior:
I once sat in on a grad-level seminar that was examining the theoretical underpinnings of probability theory. The main topic was transitivity in sports outcome preference. The Logic was that if A can beat B, and B can beat C, then A can beat C. But public sentiment often favored A can beat B, B can beat C, and C can beat A. The questions were, why do people do that and what can 'we' do about it either in the Theory or in the public awareness.
The standard Logical case was the National Football League (American NFL). The standard popular case was Rock-Paper-Scissors. It seemed up through the end of the seminar that no answer was forthcoming.
Now, I was not enrolled in the seminar and so kept to myself about it all. But I did observe that none of the attendees had noticed that the American NFL does not bill itself as a "Sport" and therefore was not required by law to be "Fair." It is billed instead as "Entertainment," the same category in which one finds (scripted) Professional Wrestling.
But it was indeed an interesting seminar in the Theory of Probability, apart from that little problem.
Not so interesting in terms of Wisdom.
"... It conveys the notion that wisdom may sometimes be impractical"
I might have thought they are implying that much of what we who reside outside the hallowed halls consider other-wise should be relegated to the status of childish nonsense, so that the wisdom of certified, true, and tenured 'Lovers of Wisdom' can be more easily promulgated as likewise 'certified, true,' and of course 'practical' by duly appointed and certified peer-reviewing committees composed of said hallowed Lovers. --
Granting that there are exceptions here and there under which a select few certified WiseMen, WiseWomen, and WiseOtherwise, may at times be permitted to excurse among we the unlearned to preach, ...umm shall we say..., 'oddities of other sorts.' (But not without penalties, naturally.)
But lest you think that I hereby exhibit a low opinion of the hallowed, well, fear not! Why, some of my best friends are closet philosophers.
My apologies, but I don’t understand your point here.
Humor
Ah. Got it.
If there is one failure we could point to that explains everything else, it is mankind's failure to understand the line between good and evil. If you do not comprehend precisely where the line is and why it is where it is, can you know what is right or wrong?
Knowing right from wrong is very deep knowledge. We all have it in us, but finding it is not easy.
Well, ok.I admit it took me about 55 years and caused me to go from atheist to Christian. but that is only because we are all spiritually sick and live in what is technically an insane asylum. That crazy people living in a demonic system does not mean the difference between fight and wrong is deep knowledge, it just means we are all coocoo crazy.
But you are right, we all know where the line is. We are just to crazy to think we need to live as if it existed. It is not our knowledge that is the problem, it is our morality.
Did you know the Japanese teach their kids how to be a good citizen before they bother teaching them other subjects. For two years they get behind us and for the rest of their life they live in an orderly society, and they are pagans.
Well, my view would be that to know what right and wrong really are we must understand the nature of reality and consciousness. Such knowledge is in us. but few discover it. Most people have a distant intuition or theory, Such knowledge doesn't come from learning to be a good citizen. albeit it will make us one.
That is a guess. The you are critical of what others do without knowing the answer to the question you pose. You also claim we need to understand the nature of reality and consciousness. There are only two possible answers, it only requires us to pick one or the other. But what you manifest is the total confusion and stagnation of someone who already has decided the nature of reality but has also realized his view makes no sense, which means nothing makes sense to him.
However, you have managed to make it impossible to give up what you already know is incoherent, I speak of physical reality. I am guessing you have got about as far as Descartes.
Oh boy. Okay. I know when I’m beat.
Yes, everyone does but that is not the point, not the point at all.