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[Schoq]

You don't have to preach it. I'm from a culture where this is literally what we practice.

they*

I guess "what is practised" would work but I don't see the point of being all impersonal when I actually identify with it strongly.

I didn't think nerds did identify with that.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take this as an insult or a double insult

[MeshGearFox]

Ninja Scroll

[SousaVilla]

You can't be more in the basis of WEIRD than greek judeo christian foundation you are naming, you aren't proving it wrong. Try nirvana, maya, etc ... as concept from other cultures.

Also reflected in some mental illness like schizophrenia which tend to have dark overtone in WEIRD country but mundane in other, WEIRD Schizo tend to hear violent thoughts but other hear things like plea to make ... mundane chore ... what does this tell us about our society?

What about all those videogame villains from japanese games that want to destroy the world because there's too much suffering? Don't some schools of Buddhism preach that desire and life is the cause of suffering or something?

Also all these adjectives are really generalizations. You have dozen of differente christian thoughts, coptic, orthodox, catholic, billions of protestan denominations. The greek world is huge, with big influences of eastern cultures like Hitites and Babylonian, Plato and platonics have different views than the traditional greek religion and the sophisters, stoicism is different than skepticism which is different than homeric thought, etc.

[gimymblert]

That still left out the multiple amerindian cultures, african cultures, Slavic culture etc ...
BTW you fail to address that the cure to suffering is "emptyness" (nirvana, zen, etc ...) e lack of purpose, lack of desire, total abandonment (mugen), o suffering != emptyness and lack of purpose, that's teh reverse, suffering is too much purpose/ego/desire I fail to see the contradiction, be happy by knowing anything is illusion? discovering everything is illusion IS the source of WEIRD suffering not the escape ideals!

[oahda]

You don't have to preach it. I'm from a culture where this is literally what we practice.

they*

I guess "what is practised" would work but I don't see the point of being all impersonal when I actually identify with it strongly.

I didn't think nerds did identify with that.

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take this as an insult or a double insult

Hey, you're level 10 on these boards, it's not an ungrounded assumption!!!!

[oahda]

mugen

Geez. Now you reminded me of

. Takes me back. Never knew what it meant, tho.

[SousaVilla]

That still left out the multiple amerindian cultures, african cultures, Slavic culture etc ...
BTW you fail to address that the cure to suffering is "emptyness" (nirvana, zen, etc ...) e lack of purpose, lack of desire, total abandonment (mugen), o suffering != emptyness and lack of purpose, that's teh reverse, suffering is too much purpose/ego/desire I fail to see the contradiction, be happy by knowing anything is illusion? discovering everything is illusion IS the source of WEIRD suffering not the escape ideals!

I've no intention of discussing the causes of suffering, my point was that this anxiety appears in lot more cultures than just "modern western industrial rich etc". As a secondary point I think equating this culture with "greek judeo christian" misses a lot of nuances, ex: plato was a major influence on the modern western world, but hesiod morality wasn't, but they're both greek. (and hesiod appear to suffer from the nhilistc anxiety at some points and plato doesnt)   

[gimymblert]

anxiety yes, but the subject imo was not that, i'm sorry if I mistook your interpretation (lack of purpose breed despair)

[SousaVilla]

That's ok, I don't even know what the hell I'm talking anymore, lol

[MeshGearFox]

[gimymblert]

I WIN

[s0]

maybe its because in a lot of these societies people have a predefined purpose and meaning is already prescribed (ex: india and its caste system)?

in modern western societies you are increasingly expected to create your own identity and your own meaning which is a huge burden for an individual and a source of anxiety and depression. everyone is expected to be "special" or "unique" in some way.

HOWEVER, and this is the real bummer, western "individualism" is actually fraudulent. the ways you can be "unique and special" are in reality predefined through social norms and values. if youre "unique" in a way that is incompatible with these norms, you'll end up as an outcast (im not talking about laws btw). western society does not expect us to be individualists, it expects us to perform a type of pseudo-individuality that expresses itself through consumer "choice" and "taste" in "art" and crap like that.

i guess the real crushing realization isnt that nothing has meaning, it's that you can't escape meaning.

seinfeld

[gimymblert]

Well that's the plot of bee movie

[J-Snake]

HOWEVER, and this is the real bummer, western "individualism" is actually fraudulent. the ways you can be "unique and special" are in reality predefined through social norms and values. if youre "unique" in a way that is incompatible with these norms, you'll end up as an outcast (im not talking about laws btw). western society does not expect us to be individualists, it expects us to perform a type of pseudo-individuality that expresses itself through consumer "choice" and "taste" in "art" and crap like that.

The society is streamlined to follow some set norms. But norms can have flaws, or even be dictated to serve the big industries.

For example I am training with naked torso at sub zero temperatures in winter in the park, daily. I am training outside (not in a gym) to be exposed to natural circumstances. For me the expansion of a well natured thing to do. That makes me a "respected outcast". But it is actually the confirmation that I am doing something right because the superior health that comes with it can be quantified, while most other people remain fragile. Now and then someone comes to me asking "What are you doing that for, do you want to get a cold?". I am replying that I am doing that to build up health, so that I don't get a cold or any other sickness. That paradigm shift is baffling, but only if you are not used to it. The problem here is that most people don't have a conscious relationship between mind and body, and the mass media does little to nothing to change that. Instead you see commercials about useless vitamin-pills and anti-age lotions which encourage an unhealthy life style.

[Netsu]

That still left out the multiple amerindian cultures, african cultures, Slavic culture etc ...
BTW you fail to address that the cure to suffering is "emptyness" (nirvana, zen, etc ...) e lack of purpose, lack of desire, total abandonment (mugen), o suffering != emptyness and lack of purpose, that's teh reverse, suffering is too much purpose/ego/desire I fail to see the contradiction, be happy by knowing anything is illusion? discovering everything is illusion IS the source of WEIRD suffering not the escape ideals!

I've no intention of discussing the causes of suffering, my point was that this anxiety appears in lot more cultures than just "modern western industrial rich etc". As a secondary point I think equating this culture with "greek judeo christian" misses a lot of nuances, ex: plato was a major influence on the modern western world, but hesiod morality wasn't, but they're both greek. (and hesiod appear to suffer from the nhilistc anxiety at some points and plato doesnt)   

Of course painting western culture as a culture of existential suffering and eastern ones as universally enlighted is a hurtful generalisation that skips a lot of nuances. There were even middle-ages christian scholars who came to conclusions similar to chan or buddhism in general (they were probably balancing on the edge of heresy but that's a different matter). Plus eastern thought is gaining more and more pupalirty in the west.

But just comparing the most prelevant ideologies in the west and east, I think it shows that the "cult of ego" that is pretty much the default in europe breeds more suffering and anxiety than the various flavours of buddhism.

[valrus]

Of course painting western culture as a culture of existential suffering and eastern ones as universally enlighted is a hurtful generalisation that skips a lot of nuances. There were even middle-ages christian scholars who came to conclusions similar to chan or buddhism in general (they were probably balancing on the edge of heresy but that's a different matter). Plus eastern thought is gaining more and more pupalirty in the west.

And for that matter, there was overlap in ancient times as well, especially after Alexander.  There are recognizably Indian philosophical positions in Greek Skepticism, via Pyrrho, who studied in India under some unnamed ascetic sect (probably Jains).  And Buddhism wasn't unknown in the Hellenistic world; around the Mediterranean there were at least Buddhist missionaries and there were probably some small Buddhist communities, and in central Asia there were Hellenistic states where Buddhism was the official religion, and which were important in the early development and spread of Buddhism, especially to China.

[gimymblert]

silk road was a thing

[SousaVilla]

Of course painting western culture as a culture of existential suffering and eastern ones as universally enlighted is a hurtful generalisation that skips a lot of nuances. There were even middle-ages christian scholars who came to conclusions similar to chan or buddhism in general (they were probably balancing on the edge of heresy but that's a different matter). Plus eastern thought is gaining more and more pupalirty in the west.

And for that matter, there was overlap in ancient times as well, especially after Alexander.  There are recognizably Indian philosophical positions in Greek Skepticism, via Pyrrho, who studied in India under some unnamed ascetic sect (probably Jains).  And Buddhism wasn't unknown in the Hellenistic world; around the Mediterranean there were at least Buddhist missionaries and there were probably some small Buddhist communities, and in central Asia there were Hellenistic states where Buddhism was the official religion, and which were important in the early development and spread of Buddhism, especially to China.

Greece was always in contact with eastern cultures, unless "eastern" excludes all the Asia minor, Mesopotamic and Egyptian civilizations. Also the division "east" vs "west" doesn't work that well in ancient times (doesnt work that well never actually, lol). Remember that India has the same cultural root as greece, rome, cetics, etc, and its possible to trace parallels between many of their ancient institutions and literature.

[jamesprimate]

im really liking sports anime these days. seems to be the ideal version of the hot blooded style imho. keeps the all the genki but gets rid of some of the more ridiculous / toxic elements. since the setting is such a limitation, the stories focus on characters rather than spectacle.

cheers and good morning to you all 

[ProgramGamer]

i guess the real crushing realization isnt that nothing has meaning, it's that you can't escape meaning.

seinfeld

Ow my head..