[Buddha-l] Natural lucidity for all, a Buddhist dream

[Richard Hayes]

On Saturday 02 September 2006 15:11, Fools Crow wrote:

>  I imagine that what one sees as one's
> "reality" is usually based on such stuff as experience, education,
> memories, etc. I don't know about you, but my whole life I have
> occasionally caught myself editing experience, even at the moment of
> experiencing it,

Yes, of course, but it does not follow from that that one's ideas are 
mistaken. Even if it is granted that there are distortions in any given 
interpretation, it does not follow that the distortions are serious enough to 
warrant being called mistakes.

> So, I reckon maybe
> what I mean by "mistaken" in this context is that my view of
> "reality" may or may not have much in common with the reality of
> others or with any presumed "facts" if there are such things as
> "facts". 

You hedge your bets pretty thoroughly when you say "may or may not". It seems 
to me that there is a remarkable amount of apparent agreement among people on 
a wide range of topics. Occasionally people disagree, and sometimes they 
disagree dramatically enough that they feel people need to die rather than be 
mistaken. But it seems just plain silly to me to suggest (by the use of 
quotation marks) that facts are anything less than facts. Would it not serve 
your case just as well to say that people sometimes disagree about the facts, 
instead of saying that people disagree about "facts".

> Having had some dealings with law enforcement I know, for 
> example, that eye-witness evidence is just about the worst damned
> evidence a person can find.

That probably depends quite a bit on the witness. Some people are much more 
observant than others, and some are considerably less inclined to prejudice 
than others.

> So maybe the whole thing is just one great big terrible mistake?

That conclusion seems unnecessarily melodramatic and sophomoric.

> Whom should we go to for an apology?

Socrates, of course. His apology was the most eloquent in recorded history. 
It's little wonder than the jury sentenced him to death. People who see as 
clearly as Socrates saw are dangerous to both tyrannies and democracies.

-- 
Richard P. Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico
http://www.unm.edu/~rhayes