It's tough to argue with someone who lives in paradise and does the work he
loves. In my mind results speak, and so I respect your life and what you
have to say. Nevertheless, the topic you are discussing is so critically
important that I feel compelled to respond, even if I am, as I suspect,
unable to come near to completely answering your distaste for anything whose
rational basis is not immediately apparent. I also am fully behind you in
what I see as an effort to expose muddy thinking or intellectual dishonesty.
However, let me make a few points.
Your straw-man description of enlightenment sounds singularly unattractive.
Are you sure this is what people mean when they talk about enlightenment? To
me, enlightenment is an order-of-magnitude increase in understanding,
comprehension of life and reality. This brings with in a commensurate
increase in personal power and ability. No one is "enlightened";
enlightenment is a process. The Zen masters said there were at least 18
major enlightenments available and countless minor ones. If you're arguing
that there is no such thing as growth in understanding, I expect you would
have trouble defending that pint of view to anyone else. If you're arguing
that people who pursue personal growth are snobs, I would certainly have to
disagree in my personal experience; academics are far more snobbish and
closed-minded.
Your warning against building a thought-prison on top of a rock-solid
personal philosophy is exactly what I mean by Level 2, so there we are in
complete agreement.
And as for your question, is this the best use I could find for memes, as
camouflage for enlightenment? The answer is yes. I can think of no greater
mission that to raise the consciousness of as many human beings as I can
while there is still time.
What better use did you have in mind? Multi-level marketing?
Richard Brodie richard@brodietech.com http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/
Author, "Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme"
http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/votm.htm
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