Sam Harris
Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 1:45 am
Personally, I find Bernardo to be the greatest modern living philosopher when it comes to making rational ontological arguments.
I doubt he'd take it as an insult to say that, in my experience, when he strays from strict onotology and begins to speculate about other fields, he seems to range from fascinating and very penetrating to, at times, extremely clumsy and naïve. I'm assuming that range includes all of us when we speak on wide range of subject.
When he speaks about Sam Harris he sounds somewhat delusional at times. We can all watch dozens of videos where Bernardo speaks happily to thinkers who denounce Idealism as silly and embarrassingly wrong. When the personality fits with Bernardo, he is more than willing to overlook their ridged ignorances and just state his peace and make his arguments.
With Sam Harris it is different. Sam Harris has made it loud and clear that he is still questioning ontology and he has sharp criticisms for materialism. Sam is married to a pan-psychist and Sam has basically shouted loudly twice at the world to take Donald Hoffman seriously. This obviously doesn't mean that Sam feel convinced of Hoffman's idealism, but it certainly means he has deep respect for the core criticisms of materialism and see how idealism could be true.
If anybody just listned to Bernardo speak about Sam Harris, you would think Sam was one of the angry, shouting, condescending speakers who rail against idealism, rather than being a guy who very often says that some form of conscious foundationalism could be what is true.
Today I heard a podcast where Bernardo shouted to the world that Sam Harris is an example of the western person who just reduces Buddhism to
a set of techniques to make yourself feel better."
What?!?
Sam has spoken for hundreds of hours stating the exact opposite. On his meditation podcast, over and over, he states that the tradition of meditation he practices is NOT at all about feeling better. Yes, the insights about consciousness can have side affects that at times feel calm or nice, but Sam gives dozens of reasons why we should meditate even if the evidence were that it made us more tense and less healthy.
At this point I'm sad to say I wasn't surprised to hear Bernardo throw Sam yet again under the bus with such a drastic misrepresentation. Anybody who has seen how angry Bernardo gets when people misrepresent him or his work, can imagine that maybe, someday, Bernardo will issue a correction and an apology to Sam Harris.
Personally, I think Bernardo sees too much of himself in Sam and that can be very very triggering. Just a hunch.
More importantly, I think that Bernardo's work on idealism is filled with clarity and he goes about teaching it with great integrity. It's an honor to be able to recieved his formal works and I believe they are contributing greatly to the world at this scary time. And none of that is contradicted by the fact that Sam Harris is mainly very friendly to non-materialistic models (despite still be skeptical as well) or that Sam Harris is very deeply steeped in a tradition of meditation that has no interest in merely helping people feel calm.
He is as committed to truth as Bernardo and, obviously and naturally, they both have great blind-spots and touchy personalities in some contexts. Like nearly all of us.
Human oh so human.
I doubt he'd take it as an insult to say that, in my experience, when he strays from strict onotology and begins to speculate about other fields, he seems to range from fascinating and very penetrating to, at times, extremely clumsy and naïve. I'm assuming that range includes all of us when we speak on wide range of subject.
When he speaks about Sam Harris he sounds somewhat delusional at times. We can all watch dozens of videos where Bernardo speaks happily to thinkers who denounce Idealism as silly and embarrassingly wrong. When the personality fits with Bernardo, he is more than willing to overlook their ridged ignorances and just state his peace and make his arguments.
With Sam Harris it is different. Sam Harris has made it loud and clear that he is still questioning ontology and he has sharp criticisms for materialism. Sam is married to a pan-psychist and Sam has basically shouted loudly twice at the world to take Donald Hoffman seriously. This obviously doesn't mean that Sam feel convinced of Hoffman's idealism, but it certainly means he has deep respect for the core criticisms of materialism and see how idealism could be true.
If anybody just listned to Bernardo speak about Sam Harris, you would think Sam was one of the angry, shouting, condescending speakers who rail against idealism, rather than being a guy who very often says that some form of conscious foundationalism could be what is true.
Today I heard a podcast where Bernardo shouted to the world that Sam Harris is an example of the western person who just reduces Buddhism to
a set of techniques to make yourself feel better."
What?!?
Sam has spoken for hundreds of hours stating the exact opposite. On his meditation podcast, over and over, he states that the tradition of meditation he practices is NOT at all about feeling better. Yes, the insights about consciousness can have side affects that at times feel calm or nice, but Sam gives dozens of reasons why we should meditate even if the evidence were that it made us more tense and less healthy.
At this point I'm sad to say I wasn't surprised to hear Bernardo throw Sam yet again under the bus with such a drastic misrepresentation. Anybody who has seen how angry Bernardo gets when people misrepresent him or his work, can imagine that maybe, someday, Bernardo will issue a correction and an apology to Sam Harris.
Personally, I think Bernardo sees too much of himself in Sam and that can be very very triggering. Just a hunch.
More importantly, I think that Bernardo's work on idealism is filled with clarity and he goes about teaching it with great integrity. It's an honor to be able to recieved his formal works and I believe they are contributing greatly to the world at this scary time. And none of that is contradicted by the fact that Sam Harris is mainly very friendly to non-materialistic models (despite still be skeptical as well) or that Sam Harris is very deeply steeped in a tradition of meditation that has no interest in merely helping people feel calm.
He is as committed to truth as Bernardo and, obviously and naturally, they both have great blind-spots and touchy personalities in some contexts. Like nearly all of us.
Human oh so human.