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Category Archives: philosophy
Dostoevsky Vs. Spinoza
Editor’s Note: In the early 1990’s, I was studying Spinoza and had begun reading Dostoevsky, too, along the way. These two texts went together very nicely, or so it seemed to me at the time… And it still seems that … Continue reading
Posted in philosophy
Tagged despair, determinism, dostoevsky, freedom, laws of nature, logic, mathematics, notes from the underground, resignation, spinoza
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A Thought Experiment
Note: This experiment was originally published as A Spiritual Exercise on Yeshua21.Com. A Thought Experiment: Imagine, if you will, your brain setting on the table in front of you, complete with the necessary blood supply, temperature control, and appropriate “wiring” … Continue reading
The Cause IN Appearances Vs. The Cause OF Appearances
This post is an elaboration of my comment on this article– The Open Universe –which addresses the idea raised by some that the universe could be a computer simulation. Leaving aside the idea of a computer simulation, per se, the … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Vision, philosophy
Tagged cbd tarot, computer simulation, divine image, divine likeness, holographic universe, kant, meditations on the tarot, open universe, sam harris, tarot of marseille, the fourth antinomy, the hanged man, the hard problem of consciousness, valentin tomberg
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Gnosis and the Active Intellect in Aristotle
“This does not mean that at one time [the active intellect] thinks but at another time it does not think, but when separated [from the body] it is just exactly what it is, and this alone is deathless and everlasting … Continue reading
Posted in Nonduality, philosophy
Tagged active intellect, angst, aristotle, despair, existence, gnosis, hard problem of consciousness, nihilism, passive intellect, rudolf steiner
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Salvation History or the Phenomenology of Spirit?
Part of the confusion we run into when discussing the sometimes conflicting claims of scripture and theology, on the one hand, and science and history, on the other, has to do with what (if anything) God intends to accomplish in … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Vision, Nonduality, philosophy
Tagged Christ, creation, evolution, faith, gnosticism, myth, natural selection, reason, salvation history, telos, transcendence
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Unitive/Nondual Gnosticism
Note: This “post” is part of a longer essay which has been posted as a separate “page” under the Nonduality menu: Gnosticism: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Unitive/Nondual Gnosticism (the good) In a related piece entitled, To Know … Continue reading
Two Arguments Against Physicalism
“Physicalism (also known as Materialistic Monism . . . is the philosophical position that everything which exists is no more extensive than its physical properties, and that the only existing substance is physical. Therefore, it argues, the mind is a … Continue reading
Ask Dr. Robert…
Nearly two years ago, when I wrote this essay on Nonduality, I expressed my intention to introduce readers to some other teachers besides the ones mentioned at the time–other teachers including some who, though less well known, are nevertheless quite good (perhaps equal to the best) but who are … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Vision, Nonduality, philosophy
Tagged alan watts, awakening, bill gersh, Christianity, consciousness, david chalmers, death, dr. Robert, eddinger, God, god-talk, hard problem of consciousness, jung, nonduality, religion, Robert Saltzman, St. Paul, Thomas merton, Thomas nagel, true nature
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Recognizing and Honoring the Light of Awareness
Quoting from chapter two of Waking Up, by Sam Harris: “However we propose to explain the emergence of consciousness—be it in biological, functional, computational, or any other terms—we have committed ourselves to this much: First there is a physical world, … Continue reading
The Light upon the Candlestick
Over the years, I have found myself returning again and again to Spinoza. And, over the years, I have also felt considerable resonance with various strains of Quaker thought. While I have long been aware that there is a connection … Continue reading
Life Streams - Narrative and Grace... 