Discussing Descartes and the best religion

 

5:00  Talking about Neal's "deconstruction"

17:00  Senior adult men in positions of responsibility should  not be child-like.

24:00  Stupid story about meat-wasting

25:00  Don't trust liars.

What do we do when successive  Presidents cannot be trusted?

29:00  The origin of Descartes's saying "I think therefore I  am."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cogito,_ergo_sum

AI Overview

René Descartes (1596–1650) lived during a period of immense political, religious, and social instability in Europe, often described as a time of crises, wars, and revolution. While he personally sought to avoid direct involvement in politics to focus on his philosophical work, his life was framed by the Thirty Years' War, the rise of the Dutch Republic, and the consolidation of absolute monarchy in France. 

Key political issues during Descartes' lifetime included:

The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648): This brutal, pan-European conflict between Catholic and Protestant forces heavily impacted the early 17th century. Descartes, a French Catholic, famously served as a volunteer in the Protestant army of Maurice of Nassau in the Netherlands early in the conflict (1618) and later with Catholic forces, likely using the military as a way to travel and study engineering. 

The Rise of the Dutch Republic: Descartes chose to live in the Netherlands for over 20 years (1628–1649), seeking a peaceful, intellectually tolerant environment to work. This period coincided with the Dutch Golden Age, marked by economic expansion and the development of a mercantile bourgeoisie.

The Consolidation of Absolutism in France: In France, Cardinal Richelieu worked to centralize power under the King, which Descartes witnessed firsthand while observing the Siege of La Rochelle (1627). This era marked the strengthening of the monarchy and the suppression of dissident groups like the Huguenots.

Religious Conflicts and Intolerance: The Reformation and Counter-Reformation created a highly volatile atmosphere of religious tension, which directly affected intellectual life. The condemnation of Galileo in 1633 by the Catholic Church for advocating the Copernican system forced Descartes to abandon the publication of his own scientific work The World, for fear of similar repression.

The English Revolution (1640s): The outbreak of the English Civil War and the eventual execution of Charles I in 1649 occurred during the final years of Descartes’ life, marking a major, chaotic upheaval in European politics.

The Emergence of the Bourgeoisie: Some interpretations suggest Descartes' work, with its emphasis on individualism, rationality, and methodological doubt, reflected the rising, yet insecure, power of the newly formed bourgeoisie. 

Descartes' Position:

Despite this turmoil, Descartes was a de facto absolutist who preferred political stability to ensure his "quiet philosophical meditation". In his Discourse on the Method (1637), he advocated for a "provisional morality" that included obedience to the laws and customs of his country. He believed that only sovereigns should concern themselves with political reform.

Alex O'Connor

31:00  Jenny Holland's argument for normalcy

32:00  Turn on, tune in, drop out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_on,_tune_in,_drop_out

35:00  Civilisational maintenance

36:00  Essential services and minimum standards of universal  morality

37:00  Pointing out the utility of having minimum standards

38:00  Patriarchy and sexual morality

39:00  Sex and drugs are being offered to us as a distraction. 

Our desire to belong to a group 

40:00  Key words are like mantas.  

41:00  Russian propaganda

42:00  True believers

Aztec

43:00  Galileo and Copernicus

American Civil War

45:00  Deconstruction, betrayal, rejection of parental beliefs and politics

47:00  Luke Thompson's idea of initiation

Systematic, definitional, institutional, construction

49:00  Fashions of thinking

The role of religion in stabilising beliefs, values and practices

51:00  My definition of the best religion: maintaining the patriarchy AKA the eugenic practice of marriage worshiping the most powerful deity conceivable with the clearest and most authoritative divine book of rules

54:00  The Trinity and idolatry

The omnipotence of God allows Him to contradict Himself

55:00  The purpose of Christianity was to defend the divine right of kings to rule ie absolute monarchy. That was why the proto-Muslim Founding Fathers had to separate the church from their state ie a constitutional republic.