Ontology
Philosophical study of being Ontologists disagree about which entities exist on the most basic level. Platonic realism asserts that universals have objective existence. Conceptualism says that universals only exist in the mind while nominalism denies their existence. There are similar disputes about mathematical objects, unobservable objects assumed by scientific theories, and moral facts. Materialism says that, fundamentally, there is only matter while dualism asserts that mind and matter are independent principles. The origins of ontology lie in the ancient period with speculations about the nature of being and the source of the universe, including ancient Indian, Chinese, and Greek philosophy. Ontology is the study of being. The word ontology has its roots in the ancient Greek terms ὄντως (ontos, meaning being) and λογία (logia, meaning study of), literally, the study of being. Being, or existence, is the main topic of ontology. Particulars and universals [edit] By number of categories
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Philosophy of mind
A phrenological mapping[1] of the brain – phrenology was among the first attempts to correlate mental functions with specific parts of the brain Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that studies the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness, and their relationship to the physical body, particularly the brain. The mind–body problem, i.e. the relationship of the mind to the body, is commonly seen as one key issue in philosophy of mind, although there are other issues concerning the nature of the mind that do not involve its relation to the physical body, such as how consciousness is possible and the nature of particular mental states.[2][3][4] Mind–body problem[edit] Our perceptual experiences depend on stimuli that arrive at our various sensory organs from the external world, and these stimuli cause changes in our mental states, ultimately causing us to feel a sensation, which may be pleasant or unpleasant. Arguments for dualism[edit]
Page-Turner
April 8, 2014 Slide Show: Kurt Vonnegut’s Whimsical Drawings Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.,’s crude, ludic doodles—a beaver, a cobra, an asterisk-anus—are famous from novels like “Breakfast of Champions,” as is the curly-haired self-portrait that doubled as his signature. But making graphic art was, for Vonnegut, a hobby that extended beyond illustrations for his fiction: he painted seascapes and landscapes on Cape Cod in the nineteen-fifties; felt-tip drawings of abstract faces on discarded pages of manuscripts; and larger, more formal color drawings that he exhibited in a one-man show in Greenwich Village in 1980. Vonnegut described his artwork as a pursuit that liberated him from the oppressive work of writing. In “Fates Worse Than Death,” he wrote, “My own means of making a living is essentially clerical, and hence tedious and constipating.… The making of pictures is to writing what laughing gas is to the Asian influenza.”...Continue Reading >> What Muriel Spark Saw She loved lightning.
Lucid Dreaming
The Art of Manliness
Lucid Dreaming/Induction Techniques
This page describes a number of lucid dream induction techniques. It is recommended that you be able to recall at least one dream per night in order to maximize the effectiveness of these methods. Preliminary Knowledge[edit] Certain elements are common to many of the lucidity-inducing techniques discussed later in this chapter. Sleep Interruption[edit] An element shared by many of the techniques is sleep interruption. Sleep interruption is a natural part of the MILD technique (described below) which trains you to arise immediately after your dreams end. Sleep Continuity[edit] If you have trouble initially falling asleep, avoid drinking water for about an hour before going to bed. If you still have difficulty getting to sleep, try reading about lucid dreaming just before going to sleep. Reality checks[edit] A reality check is a test you can perform to see if you're dreaming or awake. So here are some reality checks. Choose a few reality checks which you will do regularly. Techniques[edit]
Lucid Dreaming/Using
Dream stabilization[edit] Once you are able to dream lucidly, you may find that it is difficult to stay in the dream; for example, you may wake instantly or the dream may start “fading” which is characterized by loss or degradation of any of the senses, especially vision. Alternatively, a new lucid dreamer could easily forget that they are in a dream, as a result of the shock of the sensation. Don't worry if you wake immediately after becoming lucid. You can avoid more gradual fadings by stimulating your senses. Ideally you should be able to use the techniques below to stabilize your dream before it starts to fade (or “black out”). If you still can’t stabilize your dream, you may decide to try and wake up with the aim of remembering your dream as accurately as possible while its still fresh in your mind. Hand Touching[edit] Rub your hands together and concentrate on the rubbing. Spinning[edit] You spin around in your dream much as you would if you suddenly want to feel dizzy in real life.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Thích Nhất Hạnh (/ˈtɪk ˈnjʌt ˈhʌn/; Vietnamese: [tʰǐk ɲɜ̌t hɐ̂ʔɲ] ( ); born October 11, 1926) is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. He lives in the Plum Village Monastery in the Dordogne region in the South of France,[1] travelling internationally to give retreats and talks. He coined the term Engaged Buddhism in his book Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire.[2] A long-term exile, he was given permission to make his first return trip to Vietnam in 2005.[3] Nhất Hạnh has published more than 100 books, including more than 40 in English. Biography[edit] Buddha hall of the Từ Hiếu Temple Born as Nguyễn Xuân Bảo, Nhất Hạnh was born in the city of Quảng Ngãi in Central Vietnam in 1926. In 1956, he was named editor-in-chief of Vietnamese Buddhism, the periodical of the Unified Vietnam Buddhist Association (Giáo Hội Phật Giáo Việt Nam Thống Nhất). During the Vietnam War[edit] Establishing the Order of Interbeing[edit] Return to Vietnam[edit] Approach[edit]
Qualia
In philosophy, qualia (/ˈkwɑːliə/ or /ˈkweɪliə/; singular form: quale) are what some consider to be individual instances of subjective, conscious experience. The term "qualia" derives from the Latin neuter plural form (qualia) of the Latin adjective quālis (Latin pronunciation: [ˈkʷaːlɪs]) meaning "of what sort" or "of what kind"). Examples of qualia include the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, or the perceived redness of an evening sky. Daniel Dennett (b. 1942), American philosopher and cognitive scientist, regards qualia as "an unfamiliar term for something that could not be more familiar to each of us: the ways things seem to us".[2] Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961), the famous physicist, had this counter-materialist take: The sensation of color cannot be accounted for by the physicist's objective picture of light-waves. Definitions[edit] Saturated colors are a commonly used example of a quale. There are many definitions of qualia, which have changed over time. Daniel Dennett[edit]
