Post by Justin Chao on Jul 30, 2015 3:41:00 GMT
1. Why is Faqir Chand's experiences important in understanding the projective nature of
religious visions and miracles?
Faqir Chand’s work and life is important to understanding the illusory nature of religious visions because unlike many gurus or holy leaders, he did not mistake the visions he saw while in a meditative state. To him, the “indications of a transcendent state of consciousness” were not actually a call from a deity or a religious sign, “but were rather projections of his mind” (Lane 48). For Faqir Chand, the true purpose of his religious experiences were to discovery the identity of the self. It is not that what he saw in his visions did not exist, but rather they were representations of his identity that fail to be seen or described properly by the medium of language.
2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
Philosophy done well is not just a matter of open discussion, but it requires open discussion that has a possible means to an answer. I could wax poetic and philosophically about the stars being the souls of past humans that lived, or even humans yet to be born. However without concrete evidence of my claims, they remain philosophy because there is no proof to back up my statements. This is why 'well-done' philosophy requires science as a structural support to any hypotheses or claims made. It also sets a new stepping stone for future philosophical ideals to be made, and elaborated. Best and worst of all, having science prove a theory correct means that it also has the possibility of being proven wrong. This means that, even if it is proven wrong, the very least it has the means to do so and the theory has overall benefited the path of science and philosophy.
religious visions and miracles?
Faqir Chand’s work and life is important to understanding the illusory nature of religious visions because unlike many gurus or holy leaders, he did not mistake the visions he saw while in a meditative state. To him, the “indications of a transcendent state of consciousness” were not actually a call from a deity or a religious sign, “but were rather projections of his mind” (Lane 48). For Faqir Chand, the true purpose of his religious experiences were to discovery the identity of the self. It is not that what he saw in his visions did not exist, but rather they were representations of his identity that fail to be seen or described properly by the medium of language.
2. What is meant by the phrase, "philosophy done well is science; philosophy done poorly remains philosophy."
Philosophy done well is not just a matter of open discussion, but it requires open discussion that has a possible means to an answer. I could wax poetic and philosophically about the stars being the souls of past humans that lived, or even humans yet to be born. However without concrete evidence of my claims, they remain philosophy because there is no proof to back up my statements. This is why 'well-done' philosophy requires science as a structural support to any hypotheses or claims made. It also sets a new stepping stone for future philosophical ideals to be made, and elaborated. Best and worst of all, having science prove a theory correct means that it also has the possibility of being proven wrong. This means that, even if it is proven wrong, the very least it has the means to do so and the theory has overall benefited the path of science and philosophy.