tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post2934981128775245509..comments2023-10-11T05:53:28.724-06:00Comments on Diary of a Daoist Hermit: AsceticismThe Cloudwalking Owlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12753861683491740903noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post-51930295919926872962013-02-10T08:36:34.577-06:002013-02-10T08:36:34.577-06:00Thanks Flora. I'm always happy to see positiv...Thanks Flora. I'm always happy to see positive feedback. It sustains me. The Cloudwalking Owlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12753861683491740903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post-84224393834315765502013-02-10T07:51:58.949-06:002013-02-10T07:51:58.949-06:00I stumbled across this blog, read the first three ...I stumbled across this blog, read the first three posts (through the one about skepticism), and just wanted to let you know that I am delighted to have found you and will be back. I was particularly impressed by your expression of the connection between Buddhist and ecological ways of viewing the world. I am also deeply appreciative of your willingness to look critically at bad science, even when it's being used to support something you believe in. Thanks.Florahttp://www.wildwords.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post-12048510990347755482013-02-01T20:14:41.788-06:002013-02-01T20:14:41.788-06:00When I was a student at university it struck me ov...When I was a student at university it struck me over and over again that most academics had built their careers by choosing to attack other points of view by making arguments that were little more than subtle "straw men". Straw man arguments are when you don't choose to refute the strongest possible interpretation of a person's point of view but instead another one that is less defensible.<br /><br />In the case of asceticism, the public school teacher was assuming that the only reason why someone would pursue an ascetic lifestyle was because of superstition. If, on the other hand, you start with the assumption that Simon's behaviour made sense to him and try to figure out what it could be, I think you end up with my suggestion. <br /><br />I see this problem time and time again with the proud proponents of "skepticism" or the "new Atheism". When you try to suggest that there is a dynamic at work in religious faith that could possibly serve a purpose in the lives of some people, you usually get not much more than a "frat boy pile on" on non sequiturs and willful ignorance.The Cloudwalking Owlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12753861683491740903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5842932455093396534.post-31425459093913034062013-01-31T18:18:45.088-06:002013-01-31T18:18:45.088-06:00Quite an interesting post! I'm intrigued at h...Quite an interesting post! I'm intrigued at how you seem to take asceticism, which is so often associated with a rejection of -- or even a contempt for -- the world, and turn it on it's head to become an affirmation of the world, or at least a means of valuing the world enough to want to save it. If I understand you, the link between the two is our willingness to sacrifice material goods and comforts for the sake of our values. I think that surely has merit.<br /><br />Thank you for a thought provoking post!Paul Sunstonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02462598852553696040noreply@blogger.com