There's a classic psychology experiment (that I believe has survived the repeatability crisis) where you set up experimental situations where you trigger an action in people, without them realizing it. When you ask them why they carried out the action, they will almost always provide a logical explnation for what they did, which is completely false. In other words the linguistic circuits of our brain are very good at justifying our actions, on the basis of very little data.
As humans we don't have reflective access to our decision making process at a linguistic level, so when asked to account for our behavior and justify it, we will tend to draw upon the resources that we have available to us. Moral texts, cultural values, etc. And we may believe those texts, but there's no particular reason to think that they will inform our behavior, unless we are taking practical action to enact those values. They're maybe better thought of as socially acceptable excuses :)
> Even if metaphysical beliefs could be made crisp, it’s not clear why we need them.
Well perhaps they're an effective way of structuring and guiding our practices and rituals. Would the Bodhisattva vows have come into being without the metaphysical beliefs of Buddhism underpinning them? And perhaps those vows are more effective if you believe (or more accurately - commit to) the ideas of Buddhism. And if the practices work, but the values have become nebulous, then maybe the trick is to find new values that support those practices. Though as how to do that effectively...
I actually am not entirely sure it's survived the replication crisis.. funny you bring that up, as it relates to something I'm about to post about...
Yes, metaphysical beliefs are helpful to structure and guide practice and ritual, but that doesn't mean we need to believe them :) Take them seriously but not literally? Emptiness is empty too, but is still a cornerstone of practice. It all gets a bit paradoxical....
1) Orthodoxy (right belief) vs. Orthopraxy (right conduct) is how academics frame the distinction between Protestantism and Judaism/Buddhism you highlight.
2) Ju Mipham suggested an interesting reconciliation of Rangtong and Shentong:
Phenomenological Emptiness (shentong) can be reified. Analytical Emptiness (rangtong) is the antidote to this.
Analytical Emptiness (rangtong) ignores the experience of emptiness. Phenomenological Emptiness (shentong) is the antidote to this unseeing.
Together, they offer mutual corrections even as they spawn their own errors.
That resonates a lot with my experience as an atheist 12-stepper. As long as you approach the practice with the right intent and actions, doesn't seem to make a difference what kind of God yo believe in, imaginary god or god as an mental model interface to communicate with the universe does the job well enough.
There's a classic psychology experiment (that I believe has survived the repeatability crisis) where you set up experimental situations where you trigger an action in people, without them realizing it. When you ask them why they carried out the action, they will almost always provide a logical explnation for what they did, which is completely false. In other words the linguistic circuits of our brain are very good at justifying our actions, on the basis of very little data.
As humans we don't have reflective access to our decision making process at a linguistic level, so when asked to account for our behavior and justify it, we will tend to draw upon the resources that we have available to us. Moral texts, cultural values, etc. And we may believe those texts, but there's no particular reason to think that they will inform our behavior, unless we are taking practical action to enact those values. They're maybe better thought of as socially acceptable excuses :)
> Even if metaphysical beliefs could be made crisp, it’s not clear why we need them.
Well perhaps they're an effective way of structuring and guiding our practices and rituals. Would the Bodhisattva vows have come into being without the metaphysical beliefs of Buddhism underpinning them? And perhaps those vows are more effective if you believe (or more accurately - commit to) the ideas of Buddhism. And if the practices work, but the values have become nebulous, then maybe the trick is to find new values that support those practices. Though as how to do that effectively...
interesting comment! I think the psych paper you are thinking about is Nisbett and Wilson's "telling more than we can know" (https://home.csulb.edu/~cwallis/382/readings/482/nisbett%20saying%20more.pdf)
I actually am not entirely sure it's survived the replication crisis.. funny you bring that up, as it relates to something I'm about to post about...
Yes, metaphysical beliefs are helpful to structure and guide practice and ritual, but that doesn't mean we need to believe them :) Take them seriously but not literally? Emptiness is empty too, but is still a cornerstone of practice. It all gets a bit paradoxical....
Two footnotes:
1) Orthodoxy (right belief) vs. Orthopraxy (right conduct) is how academics frame the distinction between Protestantism and Judaism/Buddhism you highlight.
2) Ju Mipham suggested an interesting reconciliation of Rangtong and Shentong:
Phenomenological Emptiness (shentong) can be reified. Analytical Emptiness (rangtong) is the antidote to this.
Analytical Emptiness (rangtong) ignores the experience of emptiness. Phenomenological Emptiness (shentong) is the antidote to this unseeing.
Together, they offer mutual corrections even as they spawn their own errors.
Great additions! Thanks for highlighting both of these points.
That resonates a lot with my experience as an atheist 12-stepper. As long as you approach the practice with the right intent and actions, doesn't seem to make a difference what kind of God yo believe in, imaginary god or god as an mental model interface to communicate with the universe does the job well enough.
Hello Paul, I’m new here and I’m looking to connect with interesting people, with similar interests.
So here I am, introducing myself with a article, thank you:
https://open.substack.com/pub/jordannuttall/p/giants-in-history?r=4f55i2&utm_medium=ios