Election 2020

[Eric the Green]

(09-16-2020, 01:49 AM)pbrower2a Wrote: Whether Buddhism is religion or philosophy is a huge debate. Maybe we need three philosophy courses and not one.

Indeed. In college, where I majored in philosophy, at least we had some eastern courses included.

Quote:...Performance of a musical instrument early in life has its value in teaching about some of the most subtle realities of mathematics. I noticed that you did not mention country music (rarely showing any intellectual depth) or rap (awful!)... and yet, mass merchandisers of sound equipment such as Best Buy have their sound systems set up to demonstrate how those systems play back country music (which sounds much alike on anything) and rap, which of course isn't music. I did forget Big Band, which has the merit (like classical music in the time of Haydn and Mozart) of operating on different aesthetic levels at once, which is much more than I can say about country music, let alone rap.

Thanks for your reply. When I saw that you said "music appreciation (at the least, jazz, ragtime, folk, the blues..." I had to mention at least one other genre; certainly there are other non-classical ones that are worthy of appreciation besides those, and people who consider themselves scholars don't all agree with you or myself on which ones. I happen to agree with you about country and rap-- and usually about commercial pop too (it is no longer the top 40 genre; surveys are rare on the local level, whereas national surveys like Billboard are still around).

Quote:One of the great realities of western civilization is that its center has gone from Europe to an erstwhile safe haven in the northern third of the New World before the center becomes Latin America. Mexico and Brazil are both more populous than any European country except Russia.

I thought that the center was crossing the pacific where east and west would meet, as the Pacific Rim becomes the center, as it is doing. I'm not so sure the center will go south. It certainly must meet the east first, which is the other great current which has been moving toward the west already from the opposite direction.

Quote:Scientific laws are quite rigid, and even the word 'relativity' doesn't quite express the ultimate reality that everything is relative to the absolute reality of the speed of light in a vacuum. Quantum physics is a playground for a few experts.

Not agreed there; quantum physics is becoming consensus reality, and those absolutes of relativity are shaky and shifty. Science is no more solid than religion or philosophy, which are the first foundations of everything. Science is just the latest consensus view, and it undergoes periodic revolutions in which its paradigms shift. Uncertainty is now a first principle in science.

But perhaps you can make any of those three your foundation. I like to think there are 4 modes of knowledge that fit into the four directions on the philosopherswheel (science vs. religion-- esoteric and mystical rather than just traditional belief, which is the vertical axis; crossing with arts vs rational philosophy). Other kinds of knowledge are practical applications of these. You can start from any one of the four kinds of knowledge to meet the other three, and find the right synthesis that seems right for you in this lifetime, if you are a seeker of truth and wisdom and/or the practical applications thereof.

The knowledge which one chooses to learn, sticks with you much longer than the required courses. Education is just a starting point that only supplements and helps somewhat to canalize the talents and aspirations you bring into this life, and help you fit into society as it currently exists. We go on to discover much more for ourselves, and from our family and from those we meet at all ages. What we most need is not taught in school, including the liberal arts. Social knowledge for one, which I have a limited mastery of. And there's physical education and inherent athletic skill, energy and health, and everything in our experience of life in all its dimensions, and its inherent wonder and beauty-- which our primary teacher; the divine spirit within and in all. In discovering the other things, we need to undo a lot of our education and see beyond consensus reality. A lot of technical, clerical and mechanical skills people use on the job don't seem to be taught much in school, but on the job itself or through inherent talents unfolding. But basic education in math and reading certainly helps. One of my college teachers said higher liberal education is all about giving shape and form to your ideas.