For Enlightenment without Reason is a waste of potential, and Reason without Enlightenment is a waste of experience. What is at stake here is more than a matter of the influence of personalities, or questions of good or bad faith (did cynical enlightened absolutist rulers abuse naive philosophes? Within a particular centre of the brain? The thinkers of the Enlightenment objected to the absolute power of the royal rulers and of the Roman Catholic church. As such, the quality of our experience is not confined to our own minds. ), the Church halted science because it censured Galileo for using Scripture to support his then unsupported claims? If you desire for enlightenment and don't do anything to deserve it then it's not gonna help you. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled, : The views and opinions expressed in these forums do not necessarily reflect those of Catholic Answers. Stuff like that. In particular, the fields of philosophy, science, and politics were forever changed. In practice, however, ten minutes spent meditating is ten minutes spent not watching Netflix, Youtube binging, social media scrolling, or simply lost in thought. They referred to this “new” way of thinking as ‘Reason’, and the product of reasoned experimentation — the doing — ‘Science’. One may be grounded in love, compassion, and the blissful insight into the unity of all things, and yet nevertheless retain a taste for all kinds of pathological behaviour. Also don’t forget Roman Catholicism sacking of Constantinople. When their eyes met, they had a bit of a moment and Siddhartha became mesmerised. It has deep spiritual context from Buddhism and eastern philosophy. Saṃsāra, stripped of the metaphysics, is therefore the realm of Self, whereas Nirvana is the world of Selflessness. And then there is of course the problem of how to attain it. However, when we are facing the light we sometimes are oblivious of the shadows we cast on those near us. What began as nothing but a secular methodology for reducing suffering and connecting with the ultimate state of mind — meditation — was then converted/perverted into a religion known as Buddhism. * Cutting through the illusion of the self brings one closer to the factual realities of existence. One may also appeal to neuroscience in order to illustrate the logic of Selflessness. I’m talking about all the doctors and scientists who were burned as witches for like several hundred years. It does not imply a particular destination. The Good, the Bad, and the Enlightenment. Explain. In the context of a world where billions live in poverty and shit’s blowing up everywhere — a world that requires work — to concern oneself with one’s own “Enlightenment”, so the criticism goes, is a grossly unethical indulgence, a betrayal of one’s responsibilities to the world. The Enlightenment mythology is based on several pillars: Major Aspects of the Enlightenment: Philosophy. For those who have not experienced the blissful freedom of Selflessness, Enlightenment as Selflessness probably sounds a little underwhelming — disappointing even. I see this in the words of many of our Church leaders, for one. Our well-being or lack thereof, by virtue of our interconnectedness, invariably affects the quality of the web of minds of which we are a part. There are good reasons to admire the Enlightenment as a cultural movement. The best way to answer it is by way of analogy. Far from a selfish endeavour, tending to the quality of our experience is therefore among the most selfless acts we can partake in. Good Things; Do Now – Fill out parenting checklist Introduction to the Enlightenment “Are people inherently good or bad?” Discussion – Hobbes and Rousseau’s ideas on whether you think people are good or bad. In some highly idealised version of things, ten minutes spent meditating is ten minutes spent not solving climate change or the AI Alignment problem or pandemic preparedness or global poverty or any other of the long list of global problems. The thing with Buddhism is that it centres around some extraordinarily deep, empirical insights into the human condition, those gleaned by the Buddha himself, but is unfortunately shrouded in unnecessary metaphysical and esoteric baggage. In bettering our own vibes, we are by extension bettering the vibes of those we travel round the sun with — and that’s what it means to better the world. ... Is this a good or a bad thing? And this is not to say that darkness and ignorance do not also continue to march forward and broaden themselves. That change itself is always good, and that good intentions are sufficient to guarantee a good long-term outcome. Having gleaned this insight, really the central insight, Siddhartha left his family and royal life, setting out on a journey to realise the treasures of mind. Over that time, ‘The Enlightenment’ has been accused of having its hand in every baleful moment of human history: it has been indicted as the destroyer of morality; the harbinger of selfish individualism; as a thief robbing human life of meaning; as being a form of cultural imperialism, and as being directly or indirectly responsible for everything from the Holocaust to global warming. Individual Catholics did, however, at various times take part in the execution of witches, along with Protestants who also took part in witch hunts.”. In other words, there is more to flourishing, more to the Good Life, than mere Enlightenment. For example, look into the reformers oppression, torture and slaughter of Anabaptists, for one. The Enlightenment. Change: For Good or Bad" The Enlightenment is a name give by historians to an intellectual movement that was predominant in the Western world during the 18th century. Well, for a while it might be nice to have respect for civil rights, but when it becomes convenient or necessary (for various social or political reasons) to change that focus, then respect for human life becomes just another idea that goes out of style. I assure you, however, that it’s not. — a product of the contents or appearances in consciousness, whereas Enlightenment is simply about recognising the nature of consciousness and living in the Here and Now. The intellectual movement spans the better part of 150 years and had a profound impact on Western culture. This is true. Because without a focus on God, all moral values become relative. Experience and action in the world are, though related, two seperate programs. However, through practice, one will find themselves so less and less. Meditation, Consciousness, Enlightenment, Spirituality; ... Obviously there is good and bad. Also legal would be any future authorized translations. But as any good spiritual text will tell you, and as you may already know by way of experience, what we are is not a Self at all. Is there anything to this type of claim? Whether or not it’s possible to realise some final state of ‘ultimate Enlightenment’ wherein one will never again be distracted by thought — never again suffer the illusion of Self — is of course hard to say. – 10 minutes; The Age of Enlightenment Guided Notes slides 1-5 … It is therefore to Buddhist literature, somewhat reluctantly, that we look to for dialogue concerning the nature of Enlightenment. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/the-real-story-of-the-fourth-crusade. Set to become a great king or spiritual leader, he mastered the arts of combat, even winning his wife — you wouldn’t believe — in an archery contest of all things. Meditation, and the entire Enlightenment regime, is therefore perfectly consistent with the requirements of a world that requires our deliberate effort. Even if it is necessary to qualify Gay’s exaggerated claim that Enlightenment was responsible for all good, the Christian religion, and Catholicism in particular, could be thought responsible for the bad. Here the proverbial Socrates may ask, but how do we know the Self is an illusion when our experience of Selfhood is so convincing? Polical Ideas of the Enlightenment The Swiss philosophe Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed in individual freedom Rousseau believed that people are naturally good, but power corrupts them; Free people form a social contract with gov’t based on the common good of the people Rousseau’s ideal gov’t was centered on a direct democracy When one is lost in thought — distracted — the existence of the Self is as good as irrefutable. The Good, the Bad, and the Enlightenment. I mean the inquisition was pretty bad. Again, this may be the case. All there is is electrochemical signals being sent across various regions of brain tissue. While we all have a vague notion of who the Buddha was, some well fed cat who loved to meditate and wore a big smile, better understanding the story helps to contextualise the concept of Enlightenment. Despite the establishment of the Dominicans and their houses near Sonborne and other universities across Europe, despite all the contributions of the Church throughout history for science (the Big Bang, cells in biology, etc. There is no such thing as being ‘slightly lost in thought’ or ‘kind of connected to the ultimate nature of experience’. ... Social institutions and education (basically "experience") are responsible for all that human beings learn, be it good or bad. For a while, in the nineteenth century, it was common for the Enlightenment to be attacked as the liberal work of utopian fantasists, with critics pointing out there were plenty of good things about humanity not based on reason. Or is it more like an infinite continuum stretching the horizon towards ever greater Enlightenment? “We can’t change the world unless we change ourselves.”. But it seems like the enlightenment just addressed a lot of the bad things the church was doing throughout history. The Enlightenment by Satori The enlightenment and understanding of life and nature as it is can be reached after a crisis or a hard work of many years, often with many difficulties and suffering in the learning or it can be reached by Satori: a moment full of joy and complete inspiration. The Enlightenment IS about destroying the Old Order and replacing it with "a better place" or the New Order!! They used reason, or logical thinking, and science to attack this power. Enlightenment is merely the difference between being asleep at the wheel and awake. If there was a Self, where would it reside? It’s a term that has inspired many a philosophy, religion, and cult the world over. Choosing to see and anchor the + in every or most situations is that, a choice. It is heavily associated with the 18th century Enlightenment era, also known as the Age of … Just back from a week in Vermont, baking under the tutelage of Jeffrey Hamelman, I was itching to get into my own kitchen and fire up the oven. Time allocation is, after all, a function of mind. However, it wasn’t until he got to a place called Bodhgaya, a week before his 35th birthday, when he decided that he would remain in meditation until he finally acquainted himself with mind’s true nature. How did Hobbes's views differ from Locke's? Because of the demand that religious people obey their dogma unquestioningly many problems have developed and the Enlightenment has, at minimum, encouraged worthwhile questioning of absolute conformity to doctrine whatever its source and the rise of technology, although not always a good thing, has, in general, lead to more human prosperity and innovative thought than total conformity to ancient … The word Enlightenment is a western translation of Bodhi, Sanskrit for the knowledge/wisdom/awakened intellect of a Buddha (Budh meaning “to awaken”). Until we are overwhelmed with evidence to suggest this is Reality, however, I suggest it makes sense to take what is interesting and empirically verifiable within the Buddhist account of Enlightenment, and discard that which is interesting only. What did the philosophers of the Enlightenment seek to understand? What bad thing did the Church do that required these nuns to lose their heads? It’s also binary, in that one is either concentrated on the nature of awareness, the Selflessness of experience, or they are lost in thought. We bring the quality of our experience to bear on our every interaction. Even when we have set goals for ourselves, when we have decided upon a direction for our lives, the path is notoriously hard to walk, paved as it is with neon signs of diverting temptation. a. Roman Catholicism sacking of Constantinople. Have courage to use your own reason!” This was an immensely radical statement for this time period. There are two ( ) opposing forces which both have a pull. If we put aside the fact that human suffering is the problem and that working on alleviating one’s own suffering is among the most leveraged solutions, there does seem to be some tension here, at least on first glance. But what is it exactly? The goals of the Enlightenment were knowledge, freedom, and happiness. Rather because of science. The Enlightenment produced numerous books, essays, inventions, scientific discoveries, laws, wars and revolutions I guess my question is why is the enlightenment viewed so negatively by Catholics? Enlightenment is one of the (if not the) most alluring human concepts. Being connected to the true nature of experience, the Great Perfection, does not imply a certain way of life nor a particular hairstyle or a special affinity for Birkenstocks. Why not reverse the claim and suggest that it’s the ephemeral moments of Selflessness that’s the illusion? This knowledge should provide a level of contentment. supported the Enlightenment idea that people are naturally selfish. The key insight of The Enlightenment, in many respects, was that nothing is to be taken for granted. While there is obviously a lot of the former going on, for charlatans are everywhere, I suggest that the latter is equally prevalent. Past, present, and future, near and far, melted into one radiant state of intuitive bliss as he became timeless, all-pervading awareness.” Ultimately, Siddhartha Guatama became Buddha, the Awakened One. Philosopher Immanuel Kant asked the self-same question in his essay of the same name. Once enlightened, there is no good or bad as enlightenment is about, among other things, acceptance and no judgments. Previously, ideas like philosophy, reason, and science – these belonged to the higher social classes, to kings and princes and clergymen. Enlightenment, a European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that emphasized the use of reason to advance understanding of the universe and to improve the human condition. According to Lehner, reality is far more complex. As soon as one applies sufficient concentration, however, the experience of Self drops away, leaving only awareness itself. 3 Things Only Spiritual People Understand. ). Over the next six years he met various meditators and learnt some things. Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, in France and throughout Europe questioned traditional authority ; Embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change; THIS INCLUDED GOVERNMENT AS WELL! Before focusing on the allocation of the latter, it stands to reason that the focus should instead be on the on the nature of the former. One of the major philosophical developments of the Enlightenment was rationalism. The Buddhist variety of Enlightenment is, in secular terms, is — I believe — synonymous with the cessation of “Self”. Here, the whole Enlightenment thing does appear to be a phenomenon that stretches along a continuum. Admittedly, it’s possible that this is all true. It is not the case, however, that upon breaking through the subject/object illusion that one is permanently Enlightened. I just think that the Church is beginning to understand and gain the ability to spread the knowledge of God and the experience of His love as never before, even in the midst of her own struggles right now. Is it simply a matter of enough meditation and mind-altering chemistry? Heaven on earth, religion-inspiring type stuff. Where traditional productivity literature emphasises ways to slice and dice and god bless “hack” one’s time, the Enlightenment deal flips this logic on its head, emphasising the quality and control of mind over the administration of time. This is a bad thing. In some sense, it is what we mean by freedom. What’s the most direct path? I would agree that personal enlightenment requires introspection, “To know thyself.” Learning to know yourself gives you greater understanding of human nature (the good & the bad). For official apologetics resources please visit, The French Revolution and the Carmelites of Compiègne. For it’s hard to overstate the benefit to well-being that puncturing experiencing with this insight, even if such experiences are only ever highly ephemeral. What does that mean? But, what to make? Enlightenment thought was also attacked for not criticizing the emerging capitalist systems. The basis of these metaphysical claims are supposedly direct insight, knowledge acquired through communion with the Divine itself. God-given values ar… They could make irrational decisions and go crazy, be corrupted. In this scenario, there would be no debate concerning whether or not the percept in question is a snake or a rope, for it is clear as soon as one applies concentration that the object is a rope. We live in an age of unprecedented distraction, a world wherein the thread of our attention is being pulled at from a million different directions, a world wherein our attention has literally been commoditised. Once you have you head straight about that, c’mon back and we’ll talk. — where Nirvana is inner peace, impermanence, selflessness, unity of all things. Consider another psychological illusion. The enlightened man would cure whatever ailed society by using human reason alone, and human power. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. What is an awakened intellect and who or what is a Buddha? With practice, such experiences become more regular and longer in duration. There are documented cases of criminals blaspheming so that they would be transferred to the Inquisition…which was considered much more merciful than the secular courts of the time. It’s sure hard to imagine, but plausible enough. Rather, what the history renders apparent is that either such gurus are a) faking the whole Enlightenment thing or b) Simultaneously Enlightened and deranged. We can be — if we choose, if we put in the work — sources of light in the world, beacons of love and joy and calm and peace and all the good stuff. One may, and almost invariably will, continue to find themselves distracted by thought. The fact it took you a couple posts just to call the martyrdom of Catholic nuns bad makes me concerned. The Blessed Carmelites of Compiègne were guillotined on July 17, 1794. David Brooks, a writer for the New York Times, discusses the topic of the French Enlightenment versus British Enlightenment in his article Two Theories of Change. Excommunicated troops acting against orders is Roman Catholicism, but the French Revolution isn’t representative of the Enlightenment? Take the question at hand, What is Enlightenment? The rest of the story is the age old one of how religions/cults/celebrities materialise. Towards the end of the 17th century, a cast of cats — predominantly white European men — started playing round with a special type of thinking and doing, one that emphasised empirical observation and experimentation. Rather than authority or superstition, we should demand evidence to support our beliefs or truth claims. They also stopped the development of science as well as oppressing minority groups like Jews. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/what-witch-hunts-can-teach-us-about-charity-and-fear, “One of the questions I tackled in the booklet was “Did the Church burn witches during the Middle Ages?” The short answer is no. How we live, how we move through the world, is largely a conceptual thing — ideas, beliefs etc. Try reading far less biased sources, my fellow “Catholic”. After six days and nights, cutting through the various illusions of mind, he reached supreme and unsurpassed Enlightenment. But that’s because they are not enlightened. The … A common criticism of the whole Enlightenment program — the first one, not the other one — is that it requires, rather ironically, a level of self-centredness that borders on pathological. So far your only defense of the Enlightenment has been “Well the Catholics were bad”. Even if such a state is, for some strange metaphysical reason, unattainable, it’s not all bad. If it’s a real possibility, a landscape of mind available to us all, how are we to get there? “For instance literally murdering a guy for just wanting to give English readers a Bible that can be read in their language.”. While confronted by the sickness and suffering around and within him, Siddhartha one day stumbled upon a meditator who sat in deep absorption. There is no thinker of thoughts, no homunculus between the ears pulling strings or calling shots. John Locke thought that people were neither good nor bad innately. In such a world of distraction, focus/concentration/awareness is the ultimate superpower. I'm using the author of the blog posts' description as he has experienced it. But it seems like the enlightenment just addressed a lot of the bad things the church was doing throughout history. A gross oversimplification of the Tyndale and his Bible to the point of error. If desire for enlightenment is supported by unshakable faith in God, love and devotion, sincere effort and complete surrender to God, it's not at all a bad thing. Imagine you’re walking down the street and you come across what appears to be a snack coiled up on the sidewalk. But it didn’t enter the common parlance because of a sudden interest in esoteric psychology or eastern mysticism. For instance, is it a finite and binary phenomenon, as in you’re either Enlightened or you’re not? The church also was causing a lot of oppression and persecution of free thinkers. the realm of Samsara into Nirvana — a place beyond space and time, life and death — where they will rest in eternity. which by the way is on the back of the US dollar bill. We are not islands unto ourselves. Enlightenment is therefore little more than concentration, concentration fixed on the nature of awareness itself. While we all seem to have some almost inborn understanding of what the word means, for how else would we explain its powerful resonance, we nevertheless seem to be rather hazy on the details and by default deeply suspicious as to whether or not it is in fact a genuine phenomenon or merely philosophical snake oil.
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