What Does it Mean to Be 'Right' or 'Wrong' in Philosophy?

[Pattern-chaser]

I do wonder if life has become more unstable in the aftermath of the pandemic and lockdowns.

I think it has, and I think that eco-related things are an influence too, as the very weather becomes more volatile and extreme. In fact, that's the general drift I think you are referring to, instability, volatility, and extremity of all sorts.

[Pattern-chaser]

A lot of people are afraid of the strange wilderness of limbo areas of uncertainty and unknowingness.

Now this is something we see here, in philosophy, as much as in any other area of life. In general, and from a specifically human point of view, life, the universe, and everything is uncertainty, unknowingness, and little else. Everything is part of the 'strange wilderness' that is life, IMO.

[JackDaydream]

I do wonder if life has become more unstable in the aftermath of the pandemic and lockdowns.

I think it has, and I think that eco-related things are an influence too, as the very weather becomes more volatile and extreme. In fact, that's the general drift I think you are referring to, instability, volatility, and extremity of all sorts.

The funniest change which I have noticed since lockdown is that people approach me for sex so much more. It used to happen rarely but it has happened many times in the last year or so, mainly gay pick ups, including when I am waiting for busses. It does make me feel a bit unsafe though when I am just out doing things like shopping or reading.

Another aspect is that it seems that people think they can make up their own rules, like cafes closing long before closing time. Also, I often go into shops and can't find any member of staff to serve me. Yesterday, when I went into the bank there were no staff out on the main floor and I could just see a glimpse of a couple of them in a side office. It took over 5 minutes before the staff came out of the office to speak to me and other customers.

Life seems so much more chaotic and it is so hard to through to real people on phones with so many answer messages, which refer back to the websites were which had the number. More and more is about relying on apps on phones. I am not sure if it feels totalitarian or anarchic, or a precarious mixture of the two extremes.

[JackDaydream]

A lot of people are afraid of the strange wilderness of limbo areas of uncertainty and unknowingness.

Now this is something we see here, in philosophy, as much as in any other area of life. In general, and from a specifically human point of view, life, the universe, and everything is uncertainty, unknowingness, and little else. Everything is part of the 'strange wilderness' that is life, IMO.

The lack of knowing, especially unpredictability of life can result in fear and lack of security. It involves both fear about financial insecurity, the future and about the nature of existence itself. It may be related to stress on a daily basis. Most people in first world countries often expected to be certain of daily predictability in general. Now, there is so much that is not clear. It is as if systems of organisational structure and of belief have become more fragile. It is as if it is hard to know what authorities to trust in the world and in the cosmic sense too.

[The Beast]

Not to be lost in the forest when looking for the threes of discernment. Moving away from the known path can be unique and dramatic and it may get you lost but, don’t worry be happy. At the least you are not boring.

[LuckyR]

A question about your motivation for the journey: are you solving current problems or perhaps actually not changing rather adding to your repertoire?

Neither. I'm exploring. To put things in context I'm a retired teacher looking to follow up on things I didn't have time for before. At the moment I'm interested in relating things to what happened to me when I took up meditation many years ago. It lead me to Buddhism as a strategy to understand and develop my thinking, but I've moved on for now to see how different philosophical ideas might change how I see things.

I hear what you're saying. To my eye you're seeking to find a philosophy that will change how you view things. Great. I hope you find one that is "relevant" to your goal (helps you to do that). I'm not seeing much daylight between our viewpoints.

I don't think that there is much daylight either. As a newbie I thought I'd say a bit more about where I'm at. I'm not looking for any philosophy in particular. I think that many ideas in philosophy are worth a look, to find a 'what if this is how to look at the world?' moment that makes them relevant. I did some work a while back on how different philosophies have affected views about how things are. At the moment I am having fun with the Philosophy Now magazines I get free online with my library card via Libby, this month studying Kant.

Thanks for the magazine recommendation.

And good luck.

[JackDaydream]

Not to be lost in the forest when looking for the threes of discernment. Moving away from the known path can be unique and dramatic and it may get you lost but, don’t worry be happy. At the least you are not boring.

I often get lost literally. As a child, I used to often go meandering off to places, often wilderness areas, often on my way home, thinking. Unfortunately, my parents used to get so worried and looking back on it I do understand why. I have continued to get lost, sometimes accidentally and also to stay out late meandering around and my mother spoke of it as, 'when you go off the planet'. Generally, people seem to expect to be able to get hold of others instantly by phone. Sometimes, I don't have my phone with me or the battery is run down.

I find that I need my 'off the planet' times, even if it is when I am at home, as inner searching and reflection times of 'downtime'. Today, I am in my room but have let several calls from friends go answered. I just needed reflective space because I often feel that even my closest friends try to tell me what they think I should do when I am not even wishing for advice. I feel a bit allergic to advice because others' voices get in the way of discernment. Within counselling there is an emphasis on finding answers to life's dilemmas as opposed to the counsellor giving advice.

Moments of quiet contemplation help with unwinding from stress and for thinking clearly about so much. It is it is Sunday, which is a day of rest and I can understand the Judaeo- Christian tradition valued the Sabbath as a time of rest, just as the night is a time of sleep. Similarly, within spiritual traditions there is value of the wilderness as a way of authentic seeking. TS Eliot's 'The Wasteland' harks back to the in between areas and shamanism speaks of the importance of the void.

[Belindi]

Not to be lost in the forest when looking for the threes of discernment. Moving away from the known path can be unique and dramatic and it may get you lost but, don’t worry be happy. At the least you are not boring.

I often get lost literally. As a child, I used to often go meandering off to places, often wilderness areas, often on my way home, thinking. Unfortunately, my parents used to get so worried and looking back on it I do understand why. I have continued to get lost, sometimes accidentally and also to stay out late meandering around and my mother spoke of it as, 'when you go off the planet'. Generally, people seem to expect to be able to get hold of others instantly by phone. Sometimes, I don't have my phone with me or the battery is run down.

I find that I need my 'off the planet' times, even if it is when I am at home, as inner searching and reflection times of 'downtime'. Today, I am in my room but have let several calls from friends go answered. I just needed reflective space because I often feel that even my closest friends try to tell me what they think I should do when I am not even wishing for advice. I feel a bit allergic to advice because others' voices get in the way of discernment. Within counselling there is an emphasis on finding answers to life's dilemmas as opposed to the counsellor giving advice.

Moments of quiet contemplation help with unwinding from stress and for thinking clearly about so much. It is it is Sunday, which is a day of rest and I can understand the Judaeo- Christian tradition valued the Sabbath as a time of rest, just as the night is a time of sleep. Similarly, within spiritual traditions there is value of the wilderness as a way of authentic seeking. TS Eliot's 'The Wasteland' harks back to the in between areas and shamanism speaks of the importance of the void.

During periods of waking contemplation there must be at least one object of contemplation; it's impossible literally to empty the mind. I can think of several objects of contemplation that don't induce rest or recreation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44471/fancy

[stevie]

I am always right and never wrong. Even in revising my opinion about this or that I am always right which does not mean that I were wrong with the opinion I revised because evers opinion depends on the information being present and this information is a continuous flux. So I can rightly say that in every moment I am right.

[Pattern-chaser]

During periods of waking contemplation there must be at least one object of contemplation; it's impossible literally to empty the mind.

Isn't emptying the mind one aim of some meditation techniques? And isn't it possible, with quite a lot of work? I thought it was, but perhaps I'm mistaken?

[JackDaydream]

Not to be lost in the forest when looking for the threes of discernment. Moving away from the known path can be unique and dramatic and it may get you lost but, don’t worry be happy. At the least you are not boring.

I often get lost literally. As a child, I used to often go meandering off to places, often wilderness areas, often on my way home, thinking. Unfortunately, my parents used to get so worried and looking back on it I do understand why. I have continued to get lost, sometimes accidentally and also to stay out late meandering around and my mother spoke of it as, 'when you go off the planet'. Generally, people seem to expect to be able to get hold of others instantly by phone. Sometimes, I don't have my phone with me or the battery is run down.

I find that I need my 'off the planet' times, even if it is when I am at home, as inner searching and reflection times of 'downtime'. Today, I am in my room but have let several calls from friends go answered. I just needed reflective space because I often feel that even my closest friends try to tell me what they think I should do when I am not even wishing for advice. I feel a bit allergic to advice because others' voices get in the way of discernment. Within counselling there is an emphasis on finding answers to life's dilemmas as opposed to the counsellor giving advice.

Moments of quiet contemplation help with unwinding from stress and for thinking clearly about so much. It is it is Sunday, which is a day of rest and I can understand the Judaeo- Christian tradition valued the Sabbath as a time of rest, just as the night is a time of sleep. Similarly, within spiritual traditions there is value of the wilderness as a way of authentic seeking. TS Eliot's 'The Wasteland' harks back to the in between areas and shamanism speaks of the importance of the void.

During periods of waking contemplation there must be at least one object of contemplation; it's impossible literally to empty the mind. I can think of several objects of contemplation that don't induce rest or recreation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44471/fancy

It is extremely difficult to empty the mind. I think that I have come close to it a couple of times, but uncertain that it was completely empty. The attempt to fight thought from entering the mind can do the opposite. The use of poetry as a source of contemplation may be helpful. I do listen to music on my headphones each night when I go to bed. At one stage, I used to meditate to nu metal music and I saw it as being about living with inner demons. I often lie there listening to fairly psychedelic music, including dance music as if I am dancing in my mind's eye.

It is hard to know what are the best contemplation and meditation methods. Once when I was explaining to someone how I meditate she suggested that I may be doing it in a similar way to transcendental meditation.
watching images come into my mind. Some people sit in certain positions whereas I tend to lie on my bed. I am not sure how important specific techniques are, because some suggest that it is worth concentrating on breathing. I have been to a few sessions of meditation in various groups of meditation and I tend to improvise. Of course, meditation and contemplation are slightly different, but there are overlaps.

One thing which I wonder about is whether some forms of meditation are harmful or whether it is what works subjectively. I remember one of the tutors on my mental nursing course saying that if someone who is extremely stressed does relaxation exercises it can trigger psychosis, but I am not sure whether this was based on any specific evidence.

[JackDaydream]

I am always right and never wrong. Even in revising my opinion about this or that I am always right which does not mean that I were wrong with the opinion I revised because evers opinion depends on the information being present and this information is a continuous flux. So I can rightly say that in every moment I am right.

Are you saying that being 'right' is entirely subjective? To some extent, it is true that it a specific judgment of facts as they appear at any given moment in time. Nevertheless, this is contrasted with the position of seeking objectivity. So, it may be about ongoing subjective awareness along the path to greater objective clarity.

[Pattern-chaser]

One thing which I wonder about is whether some forms of meditation are harmful...

I have always been under the impression that meditation has no significant downsides. Perhaps I simply haven't heard of them?

[JackDaydream]

One thing which I wonder about is whether some forms of meditation are harmful...

I have always been under the impression that meditation has no significant downsides. Perhaps I simply haven't heard of them?

I would imagine that meditation has less significant downsides than most activities. But, there may be dangerous techniques and I am not sure whether using metal music for meditation was a very good practice on a subliminal level. Playing music in itself has a big impact and I do stil have some of my metal collection but don't listen to it often.

Generally, the issue of meditation and its potential positives and negatives may be bound up with the spiritual traditions which accompany them, such as cults. The one figure who I have read of teaching 'dangerous' techniques is Alester Crowley. However, I have not read much about his work because I tend to see it as being part of the 'dark arts' or the occult. It is likely to be here that the potential dangers lie, or if people have specific experiences while in meditation and take them too concretely. It is a bit like dreams being taken too literally. On a less serious note, there is a danger of becoming a complete psychonaut or of falling asleep during meditation and the incense catching fire.

[Belindi]

Transcendental meditation is when a person meditates with the use of a Sanskrit word- sound(the unspoken thought of the word-sound). Sanscrit is a dead language that few understand so the word -sound is devoid of meaning. To keep the word -sound devoid of meaning the meditator does not tell anyone what the word-sound is as that would attach a context to the word-sound.

The use of a mantra is , because it's impossible to empty the waking mind of thought, you can think the meaningless mantra which, with practice, comes to be the only thought into which other thoughts intrude less and less.

It does not matter what position you are in except that if you lie down you may fall asleep, as the process is very boring. It does matter that other people are absent especially intrusive interruptions from pet animals or children that can make your concentration on the mantra harder to maintain. Sessions last twenty minutes or half an hour if I remember right.

If you want to learn to do TM it's worth going to an accredited teacher of TM. I understand a proper teacher of TM will not teach it to anyone who is depressed. I suppose this is because depressed people find it hard to focus thoughts and may feel disappointed in the process. Or maybe it's that depressed person may hope for a passive therapy whereas TM does involve active participation of a playful sort.