The Consequences of New Technosciences (TC)
The wealth of new technologies (Big Data, IA, robotics, nanotechnology, nanotubes, nanofibres, biotechnology, quantum computing, etc.) currently undergoing exponential growth must force us to seriously consider how we humans wish to live with the knowledge, technology and possibilities – both good and bad – that come along with it.
The Bodhisattva Path in the Trump Era
A talk given at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church (November 22, 2016) Transcribed by Jeffrey Fuller and edited by David Loy --- It’s been two weeks today since the election, and many of us are still in a state of shock —traumatized, disheartened if not depressed, anxious, angry, fearful and somewhat confused, wondering what’s going to come next — and wondering if there might be some silver lining to what’s happening. My response today has two parts. First I’d like to identify a very real silver lining, or at least the possibility of a silver lining, depending on how we respond to the situation. And then I’d like to say a bit about what I think is the most important contribution of Buddhist teachings to this situation, which can help us understand and respond to it.
The Tasks of Axiological Epistemology
Axiological epistemology, or know-how on human axiological issues, must be based on our condition as animals. All living beings, as the creatures with needs that they are, interact with the environment in which they live in a way that is specific, sensory and axiological. We humans are no exception. Axiological epistemology must account for of our unique nature as living creatures defined as such by their ability to speak. Speech is what makes us viable animals and, therefore, constitutes us as symbiotic living creatures. For our species, without symbiosis, there is no speech and, without speech, there is no symbiosis. Language, which makes us viable symbiotic living creatures, forms the building block upon which we, as living creatures, are built. It is thus primarily and fundamentally axiological. Natural language, or language which has not become more sophisticated by means of abstract metalinguistic procedures, must be constructed with…
A revival of Religions?
Published in La Vanguardia, April 16th, 2006 Intervention by Marià Corbí in the discussion: A revival of religions? Translation by Susana Mate It is being said that religions have regained their appeal. Is it true that they are again fascinating people? In our societies we find simultaneously a clear, global and explicit rejection of religion by a wide majority of the population, and a growing interest in it. If we reflect on this contradictory attitude, we can observe two very different social phenomena, both under the term “religion”. It doesn´t seem to be a genuine revival of old beliefs and religious structures, though. It is more a completely new phenomenon: spirituality is becoming autonomic within religion. The so-called revival of religion is a very ambiguous phenomenon. Islam is again appealing to the masses at the clamor of “Islam is the solution”. What are Arab countries, Afghans and Pakistanis looking for…