Jay Garfield - World, Value, Reality

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What is the deep nature of the world? What is the role of value? What goes beyond the physical world? What is fundamental reality? We explore Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Chinese, and African traditions as well as Christianity.
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Jay Lazar Garfield is a professor of philosophy who specializes in Tibetan Buddhism. He is currently Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities at Smith College, professor of philosophy at the University of Melbourne, visiting professor of philosophy and Buddhist studies at Harvard Divinity School, and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the Central University of Tibetan Studies.
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.

[@mogley840ify]

I just like that he said "That's bullshit".... Nice to see and hear some real talk, no filters. He might be right, might be wrong, but he's calling it how he sees it

[@Ekam-Sat]

Yes. I just watched the Olympic Opening Scene and saying "bullshit" nowadays is nothing compared to the depraved shitshow the Olympic Committee put on.

[@coderzio]

When he calls bullshit on his own contrived argument, it is, in fact, bullshit. It would be better for him to cite even one piece of text to make his point.

[@Ekam-Sat]

@@coderzio Word.

[@Chatetris]

My final thesis for my undergraduate degree was on the topic of looking at Chinese philosophy and arguing that it "should" be considered a serious philosophical tradition to deal with.

[@dongshengdi773]

As long as it's not Maoism

[@dongshengdi773]

You cannot deny religion because Science and Religion are two sides of the same deep human impulse to understand the world, to know our place in it, and to marvel at the wonder of life and the infinite cosmos we are surrounded by. Let’s keep them that way, and not let one attempt to usurp the role of the other.

[@Ekam-Sat]

Mr. Garfield makes a good point. As to understanding ultimate reality... Wasn't the issue of "how" and "why" already addressed by the early Church fathers as well as by Jesus in the NT (the purpose of Life is Love)? Or in the Upanishads (the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad speaks of cosmic loneliness as being the trigger of origins)? Or in Kashmir Shaivism or Tantric Buddhism (Adi-Buddha/Samantabhadra) or Sufism (Ishq Allah, Ma'bud Allah) or through the concept of Yin & Yang and so on? Ultimately it is up to the individual to discover the Truth. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink.❣

[@mickeybrumfield764]

An unwillingness to read or try to understand the philosophy of others could be considered narcissistic besides being considered immoral or stupid.

[@dongshengdi773]

Yes, that's exactly what atheists are doing . They're bound by materialism

[@MasoudJohnAzizi]

Excellent 👍. Now that is indeed closer to truth...

[@isatousarr7044]

Understanding ultimate reality is a profound quest that touches on the nature of existence, consciousness, and the cosmos. Various philosophical and spiritual traditions offer different insights into what constitutes this fundamental truth. As we explore these perspectives, we are challenged to reconcile our subjective experiences with the objective nature of reality. How do you think our understanding of ultimate reality will evolve with advancements in science and philosophy?

[@ericnewport941]

Robert Sapolsky has been touching on these issues in his book Determined. No free will/non-self implies that moral judgments of good and bad are meaningless or at least misguided. The punitive justice system would better serve us solely as protection from dangerous individuals, and "not one inch further," i.e. not punishing/abusing these people. On that, I agree. I also very much agree with the speaker in this video that we must all be willing to reexamine our assumptions. If nothing else, it is much more fun to explore these ideas rather than merely hold mine as right and others as wrong.

[@backwardthoughts1022]

jay specifically treats noself/no freenwill as nihilism, since persons exist. sapolsky is a typical sophist who imparts magical meaning after telling that actually your sense of being alive is a delusional aberration.

[@Joe-bu6uz]

@@backwardthoughts1022Your first statement is inaccurate. Jay Garfield is a critic of free will and agent causation. If I understand his views correctly, he actually differs from some of his contemporaries in believing that dependent origination implies determinism and that determinism is compatible with Buddhist ethics. Source: Jay Garfield, Buddhist Ethics (2022), Chapter 4: "Agency and Moral Psychology".

[@jasonbonifacio2473]

We’re lucky to have Jay.

[@Maxwell-mv9rx]

Guys are completely wrong showing buddhism as philosophy. It is NOT absolutetly. Buddhism is Religious. However buddhism philosophy is by product of philosophy.

[@johnf5927]

Absolutely wrong go study Buddhism and learn something.😢

[@islaymmm]

This is like saying a table isn't wood because it's a human artefact

[@0-by-1_Publishing_LLC]

*"Guys are completely wrong showing buddhism as philosophy."* ... Buddhism is a religion based on a philosophy.

[@backwardthoughts1022]

buddhism is a series of methods to rigorously observe the object seeking to be understood, namely awareness. normally you would call this science, but no-one in the western lineages after pythagoras sustained the requisite skill.

[@rossw1365]

eastern philosophies have the reverse problem, viz, why does the physical exist, even if only in the mind? why aren't there just minds and nothing else? and why does the physical take the particular forms it does? and - this is the big ? - why did the physical exist for billions of years before there were any minds to apprehend it? how do you explain the physical's existence *independent* of mind, if mind is all that exists?

[@rossw1365]

it’s easier to explain how consciousness arises in a physical world than how - and why? - the physical world arises in consciousness in fact, I believe I’ve shown how consciousness can arise in animals - and why and while I cited kant, I didn’t rely on kant for my explanation I didn’t rely on anyone I just thought about it reading books - whether it’s western or eastern - is antithetical to thinking for oneself I only recommend it if you are the kind of person who shops around for ideas to believe

[@rossw1365]

if something is true, you can discover it yourself you don’t need to read anyone else eg, I observed there are no “laws”, as physicists and philosophers think of it there is no “book” where you can read the laws of physics, like you can read civil statutes written by man there is only the world so if the world behaves in regular ways, it is only as if they “obey laws” they don’t actually obey any law, as far as we can tell well, this comes close to kant’s idea of phenomena and noumena kant said laws only exist in the phenomenal world (he was wrong about this, there are no laws) but he said there are no laws in the noumenal world well, that is right! there are no laws in the noumenal world there is only the world, and if it behaves in regular ways, it is only as if it “obeys laws” so I discovered kant’s idea of no laws but improved on it bc my idea extends to the phenomenal world, as well there are no laws period

[@rossw1365]

and just as kant’s idea had implications for free will, so does mine for kant, the will is free bc noumena doesn’t follow any laws for me, the will is free bc the world determines itself it makes its own “laws” which it “follows”, of its own “will” it doesn’t follow any external, imposed laws

[@rossw1365]

here’s a “secret” schools won’t tell you: humans are not very intelligent any true idea humans have ever discovered are simple and are discoverable by anyone who chooses to think for himself it’s not that hard the competition isn’t that smart

[@rossw1365]

there are no geniuses there are only some individuals who are less dumb than others on the whole, humans are a dismal race

[@madhunjaysingh]

West should start from Jaininsm's philosophy of Syadvada and Anekantvada. They'll realize that all the time they we're committing "Durniti".

[@anteodedi8937]

I like Garfield. One of the main reasons is that he expounds on Buddhism so well. I highly recommend him for people who want to explore Buddhism. From what I have seen, people in the west usually don't understand Buddhism. They reduce it to pop psychology. But they are not the only one. Hindus as well misrepresent Buddhism or interpret it under the lenses of their doctrines.

[@S3RAVA3LM]

Still no substance, just pontification. There is irony in you because you'll talk about buddism( which isn't original; it was known as Brahmayana) and philosophy( you think kant and Hume were Philosopher's) while anybody who actually exercises the methods and dialectic you denigrate. You're another little sophist. You have nothing. Sophist. All these comments and troll replies by you and you have never proffered anything useful for anybody but in vain. You're an embarrassment and are what's wrong with academics.

[@jeremy2958]

This was great

[@Robinson8491]

What a breath of fresh air! I totally agree with this experience after having studied Asian texts, which are generally deeper and more clever than western 'prose' philosophy

[@chester-chickfunt900]

The older I get the more I realize just how wise Carl Jung really was. Carl said each of us has a purpose, and that purpose is to strive towards uncovering our Self, with a capital S. This journey is heavily reliant on myth and symbols and history and culture and self awareness and awareness of the remote parts of the human mind. You cannot get there if you insist on the scientific soup du jour as your only sustenance...as essential as modern science is to deliberate living. Can you develop a sophisticated enough intellectual filter to sort it all out? Well, that is up to you.

[@ronhudson3730]

Most people in the west don't know of or understand western philosophy let alone eastern. This "I am not worthy, I'm the problem" schtick is getting a little tired. We spend billions every year trying to help other cultures, around the world, on many ways. The sins of our fathers, so to speak, are not our sins, or my sins. All cultures produce ideas of universal merit. All empathetic and educated people know this. Once again, the title doesn't match the content.

[@ripleyfilms8561]

it's a blue light on from reset red & then green when ready

[@bbouchan1]

Just because it's different it doesn't mean it's true.

[@JohnWilliams-channel]

I have always thought of Buddhism as a philosophy, not a religion. I think by far the most influential philosophy is the enlightenment, which yielded science and reason. You never know where the good ideas are going to come from, but that doesn't mean they are all good ideas, in fact nearly all religions are full of bad ideas.

[@susiefairfield7218]

Western monotheists pray 🙏 🤲 and Eastern philosophies meditate 🧘‍♀️ There’s a huge difference

[@jadebrownofficial]

What's the difference? I have done both over the years and don't see the benefit of either 🤣

[@stephenzhao5809]

3:12 ... but it's not philosophy um because philosophy is analytic carefully argued based opon reasoning and based upon evicence. 3:23 ... 5:08 Okay once we do that once you did that with Buddhist philosophy in general what are the core ways to understand reality we talk about impermanence interdependence uh having no intrinisic nature or emptiness how do those or all articulate. 5:25 JG: a lot of philosophy in the west takes as either expicitly axiomatic or implicityly axiomatic we have core selves that we are um and that the universe is made of things that are substances with attributes that things edure through time as permanent phenomiwn andd that we can imagine things as existing independently independently, every one of those assumptions is challenged by Buddhism. 5:56 now I'm not saying that the Buddhist position is necessarily right about each of these but what it does is it takes the things that we the positions that we don't defend but that we just assume as the starting point and says wait a minute have you examined that um when you examine it there are deep problems and so by looking at the world in terms of impermanent sequences of events of causally interdependent phenomena that have no essences a world world without substance a world that is constructed and imputed but nonetheless real we have a very different conception of what metaphysics might look like we end up with a very differetn conception of what ethics might look like as a moral phenomenology an account of experience rather than account of action we stop thinking in terms of say free agency or a ground of moral responsiblity. 6:56 a lot of things change and many people people have who have worked in Buddhist philosophy have thought some of those are changes for the better and that can enrich philosophy by adding voices you don't enriche a conversation by excluding people and by restricting our attention only to what I call White studies you really do exclude people. 7:18

[@highvalence7649]

That's analytic philosophy. But philosophy isn't only analytic philosophy

[@adamlongaway]

Hmm! Other ideas exist was the main takeaway from this conversation. Cool I guess but makes me ask questions, like, we didn't know this? Better idea, we can just listen to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and experience this concept. Just saying it was a whole thing back then, expand your consciousness, different pov's, philosophy.

[@ansleyrubarb8672]

. ..Please may I offer a thought. There are many roads which lead to the same end, GOD, Heaven, Eternity, no Entropy, we are all special, have different fingerprints. What a wonderful thought. We are all brothers & sister, respectfully, Chuck...captivus brevis...you tube...Blessings, see you in our FATHER'S Garden...

[@octoberride]

I haven't watched a closer to truth video in a while. they have resisted the whole woke ideology and provided fascinating and compelling content...until now. Ugggg.

[@user-pe7jy9ww6v]

Perpetuated unconsciously. Sad

[@djtomoy]

All that matters is wealth and property

[@jackshultz2024]

Why don’t Western philosophers take Eastern philosophy seriously? Perhaps due to what Edward Said called “orientalism” and I suspect is White European chauvinism.

[@Zariston]

Interesting, but the title doesn't match the content.

[@Brody.W]

Jesus Christ of Nazareth......

[@mcgee227]

Who never said anything

[@jackshultz2024]

was a brown middle eastern man

[@11-AisexualsforGod-11]

False pagan idol

[@ronhudson3730]

Look into a child's adoring eyes as she/he gazes at a new-born puppy. That's the ultimate reality. We see it and feel it every day. The most profound truths are to be found in the simplest spaces and places.

[@S3RAVA3LM]

Doesn't matter if you believe in islam, it has influence millions of people, therefore should be understood - doesn't mean you have to believe in it. The more i study and understand Platonism, the more indifferent i become to religion, even Christianity, in which i love learning about Christ and really enjoy interpreting the KJV bible, but i cannot have anything to do with christianity, islam or judaism, although a part of me wants to like religion. Religion is a babies way for those who don't, or can't or haven't the time, to put in so fully understanding what is what. Life is tough, and persons need a crutch to lean on. We shouldn't expect everyone to be Heros. I study scriptures, and greatly enjoy it. I'm a man of science, i like facts and evidence. And i value rational and hyperlogical dialectics, therefore i love metaphysics. Philosophy is my life style and it doesn't pay, therefore i am true. ...philsophy isn't analytic, that's epistemology, which philosopher's do utilize, but the fact is everybody, Philosophy is experiential first and foremost. Doesn't matter what you or anybody believes....if i see the Divine and beauty, doesn't matter if you see it or not....if i realize truth and justice, doesn't matter if you do, nor do i have to argue it in proving you wrong. The western understanding of Philosophy is wrong.

[@user-pe7jy9ww6v]

I agree....ignorance is bliss I guess

[@Sherifaga]

yeah bruh!

[@LuuLuong-bn8iy]

Re --> legends 😅😂😂😂😂

[@BlishGriggs]

Hallelujah!!! I’m favored and blessed with $60,000 every week! Now I can afford anything and also support the work of God and the church.

[@BishoppKozik]

Oh really? Tell me more!

[@BlishGriggs]

This is what Ana Graciela Blackwelder does, she has changed my life.

[@BlishGriggs]

After raising up to 60k trading with her, I bought a new house and car here in the US and also paid for my son’s (Oscar) surgery. Glory to God.shalom.

[@SumnerPuntenney]

I know Ana Graciela Blackwelder, and I have also had success...

[@SumnerPuntenney]

Absolutely! I have heard stories of people who started with little or no knowledge but managed to emerge victorious thanks to Ana Graciela Blackwelder.

[@djacidkingcidguerreiro9780]

Closer to fantasy.

[@josephspencer9005]

It's too hard to understand that man's croaking voice

[@grinkot]

When I read several translations of Tao Te Ching, even the trabslators' commentary made it clear that conveying original intent in English is always lacking. If you want to study a philosophical text, you better be fluent in the original language or ar least one in the same language family, otherwise you're not a serious scholar. No wonder a pholosophy student will lean toward more accessible content. That makes their knowledge no less incomplete, but not from moral failure. The virtue signaling here is cringeworthy.

[@grinkot]

Wait... white person specializing in Tibetan Buddhism?! That's cultural appropriation! Arrest this man immediately!

[@grinkot]

White man specializing in Tibetan Buddhism?! That's cultural appropriation! Arrest him immediately!

[@11-AisexualsforGod-11]

Only upon loving wolves and sheep equally can we create the disharmonious harmony of nature in correcting unsustainable numbers.. unsustainable consumption causes climate change prompting wolf migration

[@11-AisexualsforGod-11]

All is One.. sorry hobbits

[@catherinemoore9534]

👍

[@0-by-1_Publishing_LLC]

(1:50) *RLK: **_"Is this a highly radical relativism that says that everything is all equal?"_* ... "Relativity" is important when it comes to understanding "Ultimate Reality," even when it comes to religion. Garfield suggests that all genres of philosophy should be equally considered, ... _and I agree!_ ... The only way to see the entire picture it to consider everything in its entirety. On the relativity side, the Western World has Einstein's theory of general relativity which posits that time moves relative to wherever you happen to be standing in the cosmos. But this same type of relativity manifests itself in different ways depending on the circumstances. In religion, many of the faithful often complain to God that witnessing animals kiIIing and devouring helpless prey is "cruel and grotesque." ... That's how we value "life" from our perspective. However, these same people have no problem with smashing a cockroach running across their kitchen floor. That's because even the "value of life" is relative from wherever we happen to be standing in the cosmos.

[@NicholasWilliams-y3m]

I agree with that, I see what you mean. This is why I think Tiawan is it's own independent nation, it fits perfectly within the analytics of Chinese eastern tradition.