Huston Smith - What Things Really Exist?

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When you ask what things really exist, and you think deeply about this probe to apprehend what is out there, you see the whole world anew. What are the most general categories to understand the world? It’s such a simple question; how can it inspire such profound insights?
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Huston Cummings Smith was a religious studies scholar and former Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Syracuse University.
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Closer To Truth, hosted by Robert Lawrence Kuhn and directed by Peter Getzels, presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[@didobill]

I don't mind clips of old interviews, but you should state the date of the original interviews. Thanks.

[@avi2125]

I agree. I keep getting confused.

[@lukaswolczyk3236]

Another hegel-linguistic rubbish just to cover 'mist' in thought.Not the way it is .

[@pascalbercker7487]

I would like to know the date of the recording given that Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 - December 30, 2016) has departed quite some time ago. Still, he must have been in his mid 90s at this point - but still quite lucid for his age.

[@abelincoln8885]

And yet he never figured out the proof for God of the Bible ... is the reason .. Mankind will always believe in "the gods" & spirits. Universal Functions ... proves ... space, time, Laws of Nature, matter & energy ... are NATURAL Functions ... with INFORMATION ... like purpose, rules & design ... which can only come from the Mind of an Intelligence who is multidimentional, timeless, infinite, nonphysical & Unnatural ( ie God of the Bible) The Natural existence being entirely INFORMATION ... proves ... the Unnatural existence with the lone God of the Bible ... singular & plural .. and has always existed.

[@billlee5307]

Thank you, Huston!

[@rochford59]

Consciousness,something we all have,but we'll never really understand it fully...one of those great mysteries,just scratching the surface🤔

[@CMVMic]

There is only one thing that exists. It is matter, a spatial changing substance

[@Appleblade]

Huston's book on World Religions is great. My students loved it!

[@abelincoln8885]

Nope. Sadly he knew knew & understood God of the Bible, Jews, & Christians, Israel & Jerusalem ... but sough "enlightenment" form other pagan religions with their false gods and .. prophets. The greatest & most influential Man of all time ... is a Jew .... born 1 Nisan 6 BC in Bethlehem and died on a Cross at 3:30 pm 14 Nisan 30 AD in Jerusalem ... exactly 40 years before the Jewish Temple would be destroyed as clearly prophesied in by Daniel 9 & Jonah .. from the Torah ( Bible ) ... starting the 2 x 1000 year cruse of the Jews for rejected God's Only Son (Hosea 6) and will return in the year 6000 (2030) ...to rule the world for 1000 years ... from Jerusalem, Israel ... ending God's curse on the Jews but restoring them unto Himself as their Messiah. See. He did not know & understand God of the Bible ... and yet somehow he wrote a book about world religions including Christianity? smh.

[@tomjackson7755]

@@abelincoln8885 Did you make that all up all by yourself? Bless your heart.

[@abelincoln8885]

@@tomjackson7755 Fulfilled prophesy was the only way to prove God of the Bible ... before the Science Revolution ... began by Christians from 1500's And Universal Functions ... is the hypothesis for Sir Issac Newton's Watchmaker Analogy over 300 years ago and all Machine Analogies ... and unlike Evolution, Abiogensis & a Big Bang, easily passes the Scientific Method ... developed by Christians ... who are still the majority of Nobel Prize winners. Yeah. Bless my heart, bud.

[@Khodam101]

Thank you💐

[@clayz1]

I think therefore I am. Everything else just goes over my head. Reality is constructed, yet real.

[@gettaasteroid4650]

(12:26) "a leaping flame", pff "Rarely into the branches of the tree does human worth mount up" -Dante

[@Marsun-o3c]

Just two for the body of the universe Particle body and mechanism of its motion

[@andrewmasterman2034]

Is it a requirement that any arising of consciousness needs 3 dimensional space and time? It’s so hard to postulate any type of consciousness that isn’t at the very least limited to being generated within a spatial and temporal existence such as ours.

[@Owl-of-Minerva]

Agent Smith as an old man.

[@sujok-acupuncture9246]

Huston smith has many words of truth in his interview. Similar descriptions exist widely in texts of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism.

[@kallianpublico7517]

What "things" can we not talk about? When he went for that walk did he forget what happened? He obviously did not forget how to walk, so he was "conscious" in that sense. By empty mind, therefore, he did not mean a consciousness empty of content. Did he mean a consciousness empty of correlation, the rules of correlation, and the correlator?

[@NeverCryWolf64]

The Beatles knew "Nothing is real".

[@obiwanduglobi6359]

Yes, but they smoked a lot of weed, accompanied by some LSD trips.

[@josephhruby3225]

Thank you . . . ❤

[@whatzause]

That description of mind is along the lines I heard of before. I’m glad to hear it again because I forgot it. Ironically, just knowing that, can convey a certain kind of peace of mind! I emphasize “Ironically.“

[@halcyon2864]

Everything is just an appearance in our own Consciousness. Pure Consciousness is fundamental and only is, everything else is relative.

[@Green-Dragon206]

Saying that everything appears in our consciousness may be true, however that doesn't mean that everything exists within our consciousness. Consciousness can be illusory as the interpretation of our world depends a lot on our understanding of it.

[@halcyon2864]

@@Green-Dragon206 If it is an appearance as I wrote, it means it is an appearance, so not real. Like form objects we can see, or sound, smell... they are not real, because only perceived by the senses and we know senses are limited. Even our thoughts are not real being only concepts according to our limited view and understanding.

[@halcyon2864]

@@Green-Dragon206 We are talking about pure Consciousness here, not consciousness emerging from brain activities, which is a wrong understanding from a materialistic point of view anyway. Brain cannot produces consciousness, it is only an instrument which allows to express It.

[@Green-Dragon206]

@@halcyon2864 I would say that thoughts and concepts are real, as we use them also to communicate, but they are not tangible like solid objects.

[@Green-Dragon206]

@@halcyon2864 We are not fully conscious beings so to talk about the existence of pure consciousness, when we have no measure or understanding of what that might be or even mean, the conversation becomes quite pointless.

[@stephenzhao5809]

12:26 ... Let's talk a little bit about the final level the ultimate the infinite ❤HS: ... yes we can say that 👉it exists we can say that minds can be illuminated I think everyday speech we might say a mystical vision wherein uh we see uh and tha says not only says something it says something very important and sometimes these mystical visions can come unsolicited and uh that's a kind of gruit grace whether mystical visions can be uh systematically developed uh there is difference of opinion on that um vasana meditation tries to empty the mind and I thought is good luck as the bav say has a wonderful uh description of the mind uh taking off I do believe the wind is no wilder and it has this metaphor of a monkey pancing around its cage but that doesn't get the idea a monkey uh prancing around its cage as if it had been struck by uh ST fter stand but even that doesn't do it it's a monkey prancing around its cages that has 15:15

[@user-gr3oo5ux9x]

Conviction here nothing exists.suggest jed McKenna books.

[@Promatheos]

You, the subjective awareness, exists. All objects you experience can be doubted. They may also exist in a different way than you do, but we can never be certain of that.

[@obiwanduglobi6359]

Don't you agree with me on the existence of the sun and if not, why?

[@Pingebont-blumptrot]

Thanks for this. Saves me watching a 17 minute conversation when there’s a clever sounding first comment that’s worse than saying nothing.

[@juanferbriceno4411]

The point is that the only thing we can be certain of is that we are conscious. Everything else is speculation because there is always the possibility that I am creating in the field of my consciousness all that is “outside”

[@abelincoln8885]

Wrong. Universal Functions ... proves ... space, time, Laws of Nature, matter & energy ... are NATURAL Functions ... with INFORMATION ... like purpose, rules & design ... which can only come from the Mind of an Intelligence who is multidimentional, timeless, infinite, nonphysical & Unnatural ( ie God of the Bible) The Natural existence being entirely INFORMATION ... proves ... the Unnatural existence with a single God ... who has always existed.

[@abelincoln8885]

@@juanferbriceno4411 You have no point. Man is the only known NATURAL intelligence in a Universe with .. space, time, Laws of nature, matter & energy. And through our knowledge about Man ... we can fully define the Intelligence, Mind, Function & Information Categories ... by which to identify an Intelligence, Mind, ... anything that is a Function ...that can only be made, operated, improved by an Intelligence ... due to the INFORMATION every function has especially ....purpose, rules, design. A Mind .. has freewill, nature, intellect, thoughts, memory, senses, feelings and consciousness of existence. All Functions ... have at least ... purpose, rules & design ... which is information ... that can only come from the Mind of an Intelligence. And space, time, Laws of nature, matter & energy ... of the Natural existence called the Universe ... are clearly natural Functions ... with purpose, rules, properties, processes & design. Universal Functions ... proves ... the Unnatural existence with a lone, timeless, infinite, nonphysical UNNATURAL Intelligence who clearly made the Universe & Life ... for a reason/purpose. The Mind of an Intelligence is Unnatural (spirit). Therefore the Mind of Man (Natural Intelligence) is natural (body) & unnatural (soul) with both being functions designed by God of the bible ... to give Man freewill, nature, intellect, thought, memory, senses, feelings and consciousness of the natural first ... then ... the unnatural.

[@Maxwell-mv9rx]

Ludwig Wittigeinstein believes problems of the philosophy It is how figure out reality with words. It is mirror of reality. This Guys shows reality in his own words means nothing. Absolutetly Rambling.

[@lesliecunliffe4450]

You don't understand Wittgenstein's philosophy. Read On Certainty and its affirmation of what is known as reliabilism.

[@Maxwell-mv9rx]

@@lesliecunliffe4450 YOU dont understand Wittigeinstein philosophy. Please Reading Tractatus logico philosophicus.

[@EmporerFrederick]

If reality means nothing can we symmetrically conclude nothing means reality?

[@EmporerFrederick]

Is not that a contradiction to call reality nothing?

[@richardatkinson4710]

Sad stuff. Enough said.

[@catherinemoore9534]

The peace of emptyness.

[@sujok-acupuncture9246]

The sound of one hand clapping.

[@felipek.165]

Kaballah is always the answer.

[@halcyon2864]

Of course it is. 😊

[@benv5243]

Just allow it one miracle and science can explain (almost) the rest.

[@halcyon2864]

Which miracle?? The big bang I guess 😊

[@abelincoln8885]

Nope. He never knew nor understood God of the Bible and foolishly pursued "enlightenment" from other pagan religions with false gods or prophets Universal Functions ... proves ... space, time, Laws of Nature, matter & energy ... are NATURAL Functions ... with INFORMATION ... like purpose, rules & design ... which can only come from the Mind of an Intelligence who is multidimentional, timeless, infinite, nonphysical & Unnatural ( ie God of the Bible) The Natural existence being entirely INFORMATION ... proves ... the Unnatural existence with a lone God ... who is singular & plural (3) ... and has always existed.

[@dongshengdi773]

​@@halcyon2864The miracle of the Big Bang The miracle of Life The miracle of a fine-tuned universe The miracle of Consciousness The miracle of existence . . . Science has not explained almost everything. Science does not even know what is real.

[@benv5243]

@@halcyon2864Yes, the Big Bang where our entire universe suddenly exploded into existence from….nothing!! That’s the mother and father of “supernatural”beliefs surely?

[@halcyon2864]

@@benv5243 ... and the scientific community does not believe in miracles. Absolutely ludicrous! 😜

[@TheCosmicRealm3]

We really exist as in the soul. Everything else is just part of the machine. Do you all think that it's just by chance, choice, or coincidence that two random people meet in life and then bring life in? No, absolutely not. We all bring each other into existence FOR A REASON. life HAS to come from somewhere, and it isn't by chance.

[@StillnessAndSelfInquiry]

ONLY THE I REAL SELF EXIST. The I Real Self exist, not any of the I ego false self wearing bodies, or disembodied. This World is A Dream. The I self is sleeping and dreaming up this world. It is all in the I imagination. This World is not real. All is an illusion. Soon all the I and I will awake from the sleeping dreaming state. Victory. Victory, Time to end this nightmare.

[@simonhibbs887]

Meanwhile, mind if I have another Gin and tonic?

[@abelincoln8885]

Nonsense. Man is the only known .. Intelligence .... in a Universe composed of space, time, Laws of nature, matter & energy. It is only through Man ( a Natural Intelligence) ... that we can fully define ... the Intelligence, Mind, Function & Information Categories .. and learn that space, time, Laws of nature, matter & energy and Man's body ... are all Functions ... composed of Information ... like purpose, rules & design ... which can only come from the Mind of an Intelligence. Hmmmmm? Universal Functions ... proves ... space, time, Laws of Nature, matter & energy ... are NATURAL Functions ... with INFORMATION ... like purpose, rules & design ... which can only come from the Mind of an Intelligence who is multidimentional, timeless, infinite, nonphysical & Unnatural ( ie God of the Bible) The Natural existence being entirely INFORMATION ... proves ... the Unnatural existence with the lone God of the Bible ... who is singular & plural ... and has always existed. The Mind of an Intelligence .... has to be Unnatural (spirit). Therefore the Mind of Man ( Natural intelligence) is ... natural (body) & unnatural (soul) with both being functions designed by God to give Man ... freewill, nature, intellect, thought, memory, senses, feelings & consciousness of the Natural existence ... then ... the Unnatural.

[@S3RAVA3LM]

Ask yourself: What are the things that don't exist? The very idea in thought of - how can this be? 'Things that really exist' - Aether, energy, light, spirit, soul. The things that exist are transient, mutable, and invarible. I have learned that 'exist' just means in time and space - such are not substratum.

[@tomjackson7755]

You didn't learn that. You made that up.

[@bluesky45299]

How would you prove robot has consciousness using empirical data. How do you prove to blind man what color red is using empirical data. In theory, robot can be programmed to move its hand when it touches hot surface. How do I know its having the experience of hot using test tube(Deduction/induction). The only thing i am certain of is that i have experience of hot. This finite/imperfrct experience can only come from entity that can already experience existence (Allah-one/indivisible/self-sufficient/unique/All-Loving infinite perfection). If you cannot prove your own consciousness using “scientific method”, then how can you reject the existence of Perfect/infinite metaphysical being(Allah)? “Cogito ergo sum”( I think therefore I am) should be read as “cogito ergo est”(I think therefore Allah is)

[@sven888]

What things really exist? The question is silly. "Everything is Self". Look up those three words on KZbin and you will get another interesting video that explains truth a little bit better.

[@simonhibbs887]

Funny how all these videos that explain 'truth' all seem to say different things.

[@tomjackson7755]

How can you tell that someone is lying to you? They say "that explains truth a little bit better"

[@simonhibbs887]

@@tomjackson7755 People who take this stuff seriously will watch that and think "Wow, such a deep truth", then watch a video that explains that Self is an illusions and there is no self and think "Wow, such a deep truth".

[@tomjackson7755]

@@simonhibbs887 I don't think so. People who actually take this stuff seriously would know that it isn't logical to assume that these things are the truth. They might say "Wow, that is reasonable to believe." Reminding people that what you are saying is the truth is an old scam artists trick. It has been around for thousands of years. It tricks people in to having confidence in the things they say. Hence the terms confidence game and confidence man. (there are shorter versions of the terms but some bots don't like me to use them)

[@imaginaryuniverse632]

The scriptures of all the major religions including science say everything is made of imagination. 🙂

[@dongshengdi773]

That's what I've been telling people for decades. Science is just another religion. All things are just belief systems. . There is friction between science and religion because people fail to see their common denominator. Science and religion complement each other and they are on both sides of the same coin. Science is a religion and it requires faith as much as religion does. Even atheism is a religion that requires faith that no deity exists. Proponents of science rely their faith on an institution called the scientific community. In fact there was a study made that "Faith in Science" has significantly declined in numbers as reported by the New York Post in 2012. . Many sciences require faith; in Physics, the singularity gave birth to the universe from nothing to everything, in Biology, abiogenesis claims precursors of DNA gathered together and communicated to form life, even though we can't create life even by mixing the ingredients together in a lab, and no one knows who wrote the instructions imbedded in a DNA, nor the instructions of an atom, nor the laws of physics, in Psychology or Medicine, we rely on faith in our doctors. Faith is the psychological force which motivates a man to act upon his beliefs and hopes. It transcends belief in that it is the force which puts belief into action. Example, astronomers from SETI have faith that they will eventually discover aliens. DNA is an encoding device for inheritance.

[@BLSFL_HAZE]

No things really exist. In other words; Self-evidently, variation is present. Logically, this variation can have no absolute edge, as ALL edges imply an "inside" and an "outside", and ALL insides and outsides are, themselves, facets of variation. As such, variation is CAUSELESSLY present. Given the fact that it APPEARS to have had an absolute beginning, it MUST be in some way eternally recurrent. The presence of causeless variation is the presence of the Ontological Spectrum. All phenomena (including ourselves) naturally occupy a place somewhere within this causeless Spectrum. There is never anything else.

[@NicholasWilliams-kd3eb]

We live in a mechanistic causal universe, and that's all you can truly derive. Consciousness is mechanical, by observation of how it's organized and filters stimuli.

[@BLSFL_HAZE]

@@NicholasWilliams-kd3eb Causal, mechanistic relationship naturally appears in partial (and therefore, all) perceptions of the Spectrum. Outside of perception, there is ONLY the Spectrum as a seamless whole.

[@abelincoln8885]

Nonsense. Universal Functions ... proves ... space, time, Laws of Nature, matter & energy ... are NATURAL Functions ... with INFORMATION ... like purpose, rules & design ... which can only come from the Mind of an Intelligence who is multidimentional, timeless, infinite, nonphysical & Unnatural ( ie God of the Bible) The Natural existence being entirely INFORMATION ... proves ... the Unnatural existence with a single God ... who has always existed.

[@NicholasWilliams-kd3eb]

@@BLSFL_HAZE Im not saying the Universe isn't continuous, it likely is, rather the continuality has clear observational differentials (in motion flow directionality) within that space of continuality. Something can be continuous, and have differentials in its internal motion flow consistency, and still be mechanistic.

[@BLSFL_HAZE]

@NicholasWilliams-kd3eb I think I see what you're getting at, and I even think I can entirely agree with you, while paradoxically continuing to stand by what I've already said. I honestly can't see any reason why both can't be simultaneously true.

[@AORD72]

It is good to have multiple views. But this guy is totally delusional. God? There is no need to have a god to explain the universe, it is one of at least two possibilities.

[@lesliecunliffe4450]

I like the idea that Closer to Truth didn't exist. It's full of nonsense.

[@LuuLuong-bn8iy]

E=MC3 existism.... 😂😂😂

[@Gringohuevon]

FFS