similarminds.com

[Turtle]

EricJ,

I have a book that might interest you if you haven't read it already.

It's called "Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dialogue With the Dalai Lama" by Daniel Goleman. The title is a bit misleading. Where science and the humanities meet is an interest of mine.

I don't want to say too much, it would spoil it if you haven't read it but here is a snip it from a review on amazon... it is an incredibly thought provoking book.

Amazon.com
Destructive Emotions: How Can We Overcome Them? A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama forcefully puts to rest the misconception that the realms of science and spirituality are at odds. In this extraordinary book, Daniel Goleman presents dialogues between the Dalai Lama and a small group of eminent psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers that probe the challenging questions: Can the worlds of science and philosophy work together to recognize destructive emotions such as hatred, craving, and delusion? If so, can they transform those feelings for the ultimate improvement of humanity? As the Dalai Lama explains, "With the ever-growing impact of science on our lives, religion and spirituality have a greater role to play in reminding us of our humanity."

The book's subject marks the eighth round in a series of ongoing meetings of the Mind Life Institute. The varied perspectives of science, philosophy, and Eastern and Western thought beautifully illustrate the symbiosis among the views, which are readily accessible despite their complexity. Among the book's many strengths is its organization, which allows readers to enjoy the entire five-day seminar or choose sections that are most relevant to their interests, such as "Cultivating Emotional Balance," "The Neuroscience of Emotion," "Encouraging Compassion," or "The Scientific Study of Consciousness." But the real joy is in gaining an insider's view of these extraordinary minds at work, especially that of the Dalai Lama, whose curiosity, Socratic questioning, and humor ultimately serve as the linchpin for the book's soaring intellectual discussion. --Silvana Tropea






The Mind and Life conferences are quite enlightening. I have yet to read all that I want to.
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[ericj]

Turtle, thanks for the recommendation. I love hearing about books that might be of interest--the only problem is my to-read book list is growing much faster than my books-read list.

Thanks tho!
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"Ideas started churning around like mad inside my teetering bulb of dread and dream." -- Hofstadter

[Darvick]

This is an interesting topic - my thought was that, while we might be limited in scope by our biology, we have the benefit of the world being deep but repeating in pattern such that we can create metaphors - so regardless of the depth of scientific realty we can always fold an idea into a metaphor for another...

In this way, we may perceive each layer of thought in the same way as another layer so that we have infitite capability to resolve new scientific concepts...
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"If knowledge is power, and its application your will, then wisdom is the sum of your power, and wisdom shared, is the alignment of others to your will..."

[Kyle]