life and sex = creation and fun ! so then that must be the meaning of life or at least the circle of life ! lol oral sex is just
I think you are confusing spirituality with accumulated=studied knowledge/collected certificates/trophies / human intelligence. Reasoning spirituality with 'things' you have got / achieved in your life is emotional per se. It's your ideas of yourself that is in defense mode and the re-action is emotion. (I got 'somebody' in my life and that somebody demands for respect and becomes emotional if there is none.) Spirit / Geist is above all them and remains unaffected. It has nothing to do with what you have got/achieved but everything to do with your current state of consciousness and by that affects the way how you act in the world / interact with others. That what is truth needs no defense at all (Spirit) and what you defend is illusion (your idea of a person with high IQ)... That's actually not significant. Significant is what prevails / dominates. And when abstract / intellectual knowledge dominates 'common sense' gets into background / degenerates at those individuals. Besides of that common sense also means 'gesunder Menschenverstand' which is literally translated to healthy human sense / Reason. This is something you cannot study in an University. Science is not opinion, it is consistent and has a relative truth. It's based on (human) definitions and natural laws. It allows to make predictions / conclusions because of laws and recognized basic principles. Anyway natural systems are complex and misleading occurs -for instance- because of false fundamental assumptions / human egocentric course of action. And BTW only science can disprove science.
While that could be said of Dr Mengele and his ilk - it has nothing to do with me and putting everybody in the same sack does no one any favours in clearing up that pile of issues, Yen... I did not "get" them, I am in part "them", I earned them, I worked on them and that does have an impact on one in return (unless you see yourself as a programmable robot, where whatever you "do" is a "just a job" and it has no effect on you as a... what? Human Being, "just a professional" or robot or - what? Perhaps you can "dissolve" these connections in a Zen or some such "school of thought" attempt at... I don't know what - but I think you're deluding yourself over this... I chose to study Philosophy for a reason and I don't "accumulate philosophical things" like bankers, economists and whatnot accumulate money, power, influence, property... I am that which I studied, what I studied is very much a spiritual path of life, unlike economy, legal profession and whatnot, by and large, so this is very much my spirituality (provided one doesn't attempt to reduce it to some kind of mystical cr@p)... These issues are precisely "my business", if you wish. It's sad I have to explain this to you, of all people... What are you on about here? You have intimate, friendly relationships which are not emotional as well? See, this is the mystical cr@p I mentioned above. No dialectics, not a shred of inkling of understanding the issues in a Hegelian manner... Objectifying everything is also a "spiritual" manner of dealing with "things/issues" and in this case it is utterly superficial and self-deluding. Perhaps there is a case for that, if you're in a "job" that has very little to do with "spirituality" but not in my case. Please, qualify your sentences so as not to speak for me, from your experience... See, what I like about you is that you felt holes in what you as a professional are and then you want to expand and enrich your life through "spiritual pursuits" because you feel your profession doesn't provide what you need, as a Human Being. I can relate to that! I used to be a maths champion (locally, long ago), never having been to any "advanced maths groups", never having studied it at home, I would figure out solutions to problems my teachers would put before us before they explained how to solve it and I would usually do it my own way, not the way they explained it and before they would finish explaining it. I felt the same way about maths and I therefore left it behind, because it did not satisfy me regarding "things/issues" I was most interested in - so, I turned away from it and put my energies into the uncertainty of "spirituality", Yen. From Art and History, to Psychology and Psychoanalysis, to Sociology, Logics, Philosophy and so on. Now, what are these? What is their "subject matter"? What are all those people working on? Muscle growth? You have a very wrong idea of what this is all about, where it "resides", how we "get to it" and what is its foundation. Spirit is nothing without us, Human Beings and without us "defending" it - it disappears, then we sink to the level of "social animals"... Common sense is a set of commonly held prejudices, "spiritual shortcuts", uncritically held "common beliefs" and "spirituality" starts with questioning those. Until then one is shackled by "chains of common consciousness". Reason starts when one becomes an individual, above and beyond "common sense", when one deploys one's critical capacities and dares to think for oneself, against the tide, the current, the "prevailing values, mores, customs" etc. There are no guarantees one will get very far but this is a conditio sine qua non of spirituality/Reason. Unless you "think" (I would say "feel") that "spirituality" is some "warm feeling" when one "meditates" and "clears one's mind of everything" and then imagines one is somehow "clean" and "above all that rubbish" we usually call Human life? No, Yen. These notions and whole regions of Human endeavour have a rich history, of which you are not properly aware, obviously. Hence your misapprehension... Not everybody gets to change those meanings in any way they "feel" they "must"... You can do whatever you want, of course but there will be little relevance of any of such an effort against the already built rich tradition we have inherited, against which one is then trying to produce something "new" and further enrich our tradition (that which is best from our mere past). Notions of Reason (Vernunft/Um) and Verstand (Understanding/Razum) have a very specific meaning of which one is or isn't aware... There are very few exceptions to this and the people who managed somehow to influence such areas of Human Spirituality are quite literally extraordinary and they maketh the rule, of course. One that comes to mind is Nietzsche. Not every "deeply spiritual" Dick, Harry and Jane get to do that... And you think that Hegel's grand system was just another opinion, do you? How disrespectful is that? But I expect that from Scientists. Just not you, sadly... I thought you would know a bit more and you would be a bit more respectful of such people's efforts, sometimes throughout their lives, in some cases a grand contribution to our common "spirituality"... Moreover, our understanding (Science) of those laws keeps changing. Not fast. Not easily. There is always a struggle between the established "authorities" and "newcomers" but... it does happen! Who does that? Scientists. Not any old John and Jane Doe. One has to apply oneself, study hard, "accumulate" all kinds of judgements of others, as to one's abilities and ideas (through persuasion, that would be language, that would mean common structures, "Spirit" if you wish, which means standards, laws, examination and other boards of judges of all kinds and so on and so forth). Now, funny how this comes up if one tries to get into Physics, Chemistry and whatnot - but not when it comes to Philosophy, for instance. Suddenly, everyone is an expert... It's all "just an opinion" amongst any other, allegedly equal opinion... Or poor knowledge, spatial but no temporal IQ, like "Science" which misleads against global warming and its causes and contributors, despite knowing full well that what they are denying is a LIE! I.e. tarnished Science and sold out "Scientists"! "Spirituality", in this case, I would say, some Humans achieve but sadly, probably most do not.... New, better Science disproves "old", limited "science" etc. Sure. But are you aware that most of this "new" and "better" Science was Philosophy? Sometimes worse, sometimes better - but Philosophy, nevertheless. In conclusion: You see, when we are honest, like you are now, we can actually talk issues. But only if one makes an honest effort. Then, we can start talking about the real issues. Before that it's "political gunslinging", a showdown of prejudices, cross-currents get in a whirl and nothing but a lot of confusion comes out. Then, if one is really interested, perhaps we can each start RESPECTING each other's strengths and talents, past labour of love and "accumulated knowledge", rather than try to diminish those of others, so we could make ourselves "equally competent" in things we have not exactly spent enough time and energy studying... While I do acknowledge those strengths of yours and ask Qs and thank you for clearing things up for us, i.e. about things I do not know about enough - as you can see, I get a little bit irate when somebody starts "doctoring" me about my profession and which notion means what and how things relate to each other in that which is my profession... Can you relate to that?
I've met a few smart peeps in my lifetime, and the one most obvious thing about smart peeps that I know of.... is that they do not have to announce to anybody that they are smart, or brag about their education or accomplishments of their degrees
Oh, that's "nice" - a rather "thoughtful" put down... Or attempt of one... OK, how about this for an equally thoughtful answer: "I have met a lot of truly gifted people in my lifetime. The best Philosophers, Linguists etc. the Earth has, some of the best musicians we have and so on but... errrmmm, you ain't one of them." Feeling warm and groovy now, do we? You understand and respect the above arguments, do you? It's just there's no evidence of it, sadly... Or we are from the same political and world-view background and you tend to be respectful towards those who oppose you, right? I am doing this because... oh, I don't know, there is no regular mobbing of Lefties by Conservatives (some ultra-Conservatives, far Right, pro-eugenics etc. mob!) on the forum, right? So, I am "inventing" things when I attack you lot in return? Because you are really thoughtful and kind the way you treat people who disagree with you? No petty sneering, arrogance, sarcasm etc.? So sweet, you lot... And right, try to de-contextualise this, why don't you - then it's political gunslinging, indeed. It's OK for you lot to be "politically incorrect" but God forbid you get a load of that in return... Grow up, FFS...
Hey... I am only stating my experiences within my personal life. Nothing more and nothing less. I've never made any claims to have any talents at all, nor do I feel I have any special talents. When it comes to politics (derailing the subject) I've have been guilty of posting my personal views. But I am not ashamed of my personal views either. I do not attempt to force my views onto anybody, but I am not afraid to post them if I should find necessary. (see, I'm not like them smart folks that just listen, and keep their opinions to themselves... and write documents about it later and collect $$$ on those books)
@gorski : I am so smart, you all people on the other hand are so wrong, no wait, very stupid and blah blah blah...
Funny woman Sandy Toksvig said she went to university with people who could split the atom but wouldnt wire a 13 amp plug. All exam results prove is you have a good memory.
Having a good memory is a large part of intelligence (imho) do not confuse good memory with those that have no common sense, because you can have a very good memory... but can't untie a knotted fishing line, or be able to parallel park your car
Oppenheimer was chosen not on his knowledge, although he must have been smart, but his ability to oversee everything and know what to combine.
Yes @gorski , you are so freaked out cause you are the best mind around MDL, no wait, the whole world. Hail the new messiah all knowing all intelligence @gorski
Nothing like a bit of constructive contribution, a creative mind, a proper scientist with clear thinking... Given all this hard work, serious thinking, detailed explanations of yours, I take it you agree with everything I wrote...