04-11-2014, 11:07 PM
Quote:It also makes me think of a thread I posted where I asked what people would teach me and Fang said, "The beauty of arrogance", and this is something that has been very challenging for me. I would be lying if I said I didn't in some way consciously control what my external expressions are, because I am aware of a huge spectrum of possible responses I could give in any moment. I am often made aware, simultaneously, of both very critical points of view as well as very accepting, lenient points of view and it is sometimes very challenging to choose what I might see as the "best" choice.
To give a bit of a context for that, after I said "the beauty of arrogance" I said "and the wisdom of humility" which I personally, thought was rather profound
But really the reason I said it Tanner is because you are already humble and have great ideas to offer but sometimes lack a certain assertiveness that comes from confidence that could really get your point rather than friendly words alluding to your point across . Arrogance is a stage to grow out of but it offers lessons and skills for later stages, that's what I was hinting at.
Anyways, the ego is the focal point of consciousness in the individual, it's not a thing to be discarded. The pathological behaviour of ego, (as it is of self) include those tendencies of manipulation, control as they are related to self. However, those behaviours are not the ego itself, the "I" when refined and expanded transcends those early levels of close minded self centered behaviour that is usually associated with the word, as the "I" is now an expanded concept. If I see myself as a product of and participant in nature I'm not going to have the same behavioural tendencies as someone who thinks they are a deity's personal gift to creation for example. Each level of development offers new challenges and opportunities for "malfunction" or even regression to past states of awareness.
Good thread.
For your points on critical thinking I agree for the most part, and you won't find many more people that are reluctant to whip out Occam's razor than me. I'm very glad to see more reflection the nature of criticism here because for a long time it was just ignored, which is to say, disrespected ironically lol. I hope we are all approaching a level ground so we can discuss things again rather than the nature of the discussion in question lol