Leo's Blog: Infinite Insights — Page 6
These are some eye-opening examples of post-modernism in practice.
That second video shows the fundamental problem with post-modernism, namely, that post-modernism misses 1st order truth. 1st order truth is simply experience. A post-modernist is so lost in conceptual abstractions, social constructions, and historicism that he cannot even recognize that experience is Absolute Truth.
A = A. That's Awakening.
It might seem trivial or obvious but it's not. Not a single human on this planet understands that A = A until they are Awake. If you understood that A = A, you would realize God. But no one realizes it. It's too profound for your monkey mind. Only God can get it.
It's just damned fascinating how Dugin uses PM to undermine the West.
This is such a clean, perfect example:
"We have our special Russian truth."
What do you think? Is it true that Russia has its special Russian truth and America has its special American truth? In what sense is this correct and in what sense is it not?
It's not so obvious. Take your time mulling it over.
What do you think about this notion of multi-polarity? Post-modernism opens the door to mutli-polarity. But what then? How do we resolve disputes between different worldviews/truths if there is no objective ground? Do we just go to war and see who kills whom? And then whatever survives is the truth?
The problem with having multiple special truths is that they don't get along. One truth seeks to dominate and suppress the others. But in order to have a single truth, it too needs to dominate and destroy all the others. This situation is what I call epistemic anarchy. Imagine an epistemic wild west where there is no sheriff, no law, so every truth must fight every other truth to the death. But then what happens when one truth kills all the others and enthrones itself as king? How will that king defend his kingdom when new truths arise and plot to stab him in the back? Truth is endless war!
The following is one of the most painful things I've ever forced myself to listen to. It's a 2hr long slow-motion epistemic train wreck.
James Lindsay is a right-wing PhD professor who completely misunderstands and butchers post-modernism, mysticism, esotericism, and leftism.
This talk is so wrong, so backwards, so ignorant, it leaves my mind dizzy. And yet, the conservatives who listen to it think it is profound (just read the YT comments).
This is what I mean when I say that conservatives do not understand post-modernism. Conservatives cannot understand post-modernism because if they actually understood it, it would destroy their religion, culture, and morality. Because religion is a relative social construct. So any religious conservative is obligated to misunderstand post-modernism. They aren't interested in understanding, they are interested in defending their religion. And this is why they are so passionate in their opposition to it. It's personal. They feel it is their duty to combat and destroy post-modernism — a thing which they do not even understand. This kind of attitude has spawned a whole cottage industry on the right, with Jordan Peterson as its ring-leader.
My series on Post-Modernism is aimed at clearing up this whole confusion, so no one falls for such right-wing misinformation.
You don't need to like or agree with post-modernism. But before you do, at least understand what it is you're disagreeing with. There is plenty to criticize about post-modernism without demonizing it in this way.
Notice that Lindsay is pitching a grand meta-narrative: a conspiracy of woke gnostic post-modern Luciferian Communist mystics who have existed for 2500 years, who are infiltrating every element of society, from academia to government, to destroy Western civilization and orthodox religion. According to Lindsay this is objective truth. It's every right-wing boogeyman collected into a single demonizing grand narrative: mystics, Communists, SJWs, leftists, wizards, gays, feminists, Nazis, Satanists, pedophiles, Jews, Illuminati, post-modernists, academics, cultists, elites, DEI, CRT, environmentalists, demons, Kamala Harris, Mickey Mouse — all working together to enslave you. Just take every perceived enemy of the American right and lump them together into a single epic cabal of evil-doers.
This is actually a conspiracy theory known as Cultural Marxism/Bolshevism, whose roots stretch back to the Nazis, but Lindsay is more than eager to put lipstick on that old pig.
This is the intellectual nonsense you get when you mix right-wing reactionary politics with philosophy and religion. Now you see the problem, the epistemic foolishness, of grand narratives. The ego is masterful at constructing an infinite array of grand narratives to suit its biases and survival needs. There is no limit to the grand narratives your mind can spin and hold as truth.
This is a profound example of the levels of creative self-deception the mind is capable of. This isn't just your run-of-the-mill self-deception, like that of traditional religion. This is a highly creative, conspiracy-brained level of self-deception. It's self-deception as art-form. Lindsay invented this elaborate grand narrative out of thin air under the guise of scholarly work. This should leave you terrified of what your mind is capable of.
Total misunderstanding and misuse of the concept of "hyper-reality".
Total misunderstanding and misuse of negative theology.
This is how the culture wars will rot your mind if you aren't careful.
I found a potential cure for tinnitus (ringing in the ears).
Over the past 12 months I have been suffering from serious sound-induced tinnitus and hearing damage. It made my life a living hell.
There is no conventional cure for tinnitus. However, after much internet research and experimentation, I discovered two technologies that have helped me and others. I am sharing the first technology here in this post.
The first technology is called Tinnitus Mix. I found it shockingly effective, helping a lot with my tinnitus in a short period of time. Its effects were beyond placebo. However, I make no guarantees that it will work for you. You'd just have to try and see.
Tinnitus Mix is a single audio file which you play using headphones which knocks out tinnitus. It doesn't just mask tinnitus — which itself can feel good — it can permanently remove tinnitus over time. But it doesn't work for all people.
Tinnitus Mix is a free technology invented by David Case. You can download the audio file here: Tinnitus Mix
It's simple to use. His website explains the basics of how to use it.
Here are my suggestions for how to use it:
- You must listen to Tinnitus Mix for long periods of time. Hours on end. It's recommended that you listen to it in your sleep 8hrs per day. But you can start off listening to it less. You can also listen to it during the day. But even 2 hrs of listening can help. It just won't be permanent.
- Do not compress the WAV file into MP3 format. Compressing the file could reduce its effectiveness.
- Start by playing it at the lowest possible volume 1/10 or 2/10. If it's working for you, gradually increase volume over the days and weeks that you use it.
- The full protocol requires listening Tinnitus Mix for 8hrs per day, every day, for 3 weeks straight. It's important to stick to this regimen as closely as possible and don't skip days, otherwise your tinnitus could regroup and return.
- You need to use headphones, and high quality headphones. Do not use earbuds. Do not use speakers. Do not use cheap crappy headphones. Make sure you get comfortable headphones so you can comfortably wear them long-term and during sleep.
- Two headphone recommendations:
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50X Pro - $150
- Koss KTXPro1 - $20
- Tinnitus Mix is intended to cure tinnitus caused by loud sound or sudden onset. There are other kinds of tinnitus, so be careful. Tinnitus Mix is not designed for people with reactive tinnitus and might make reactive tinnitus, or other kinds of tinnitus, worse. Think carefully about what kind of tinnitus you have and what caused it.
- Be cautious when first starting this protocol. There is a small risk that it could make your tinnitus worse. Start low and short duration (2-3hrs/day).
- Tinnitus Mix is not a 100% guaranteed cure. It works for approximately 50% of users, and don't expect it to eliminate tinnitus entirely, rather expect reduction in severity. It did not entirely cure my tinnitus but it helped reduce the worst of it, bringing it down to a tolerable level.
- Do not listen to Tinnitus Mix if you have severe hearing damage or extreme sensitivity to sounds.
- When you first start listening to Tinnitus Mix, it will sound horrible to your hears. Don't fret. It sounds grating at first but you will quickly get used to it, and it will soon even become soothing. Just trust the process and use very low volume to start.
- Warning: This is experimental alternative medicine. It comes with some risks and it is not as well-studied or well-documented as conventional medicine.
If you know anyone with hearing damage from loud sounds, or tinnitus, recommend them to try this out. The risk is minimal as long as you don't blast it too loud in your ears.
If you have success with this method, please report your results and feedback to David Case so he can catalogue it to help others. David is very responsive and he collects feedback on his technology for the benefit of others. Also, report your success to me, so I can know how effective this method is for others. At this point I have only tried it on myself.
Full credit to David Case for this amazing invention.
Best of luck.
Important Links:
I will share a second important technology in Part 2.
This is a great example of the challenges of defending the position of universal human values as something "rational" and objective.
It's ironic that in this video Carl Benjamin (the conservative) is using Post-Modernism against Boghossian, in a move very similar to Dugin. The lesson here is that the conservative mind will not hesitate to weaponize PM against its enemies in cynical fashion. So be ready for this kind of trick. Jordan Peterson does it too. He will use PM when it suits him, then denounce it in the next sentence.
Contemplate: Are universal human values really rational and objective? What does rationality even mean in this case? Is it truly rational to believe that homosexuals should be allowed to walk the streets in Afghanistan? Is that an objective good? Or is rationality here being used to smuggle in hidden subjective Euro-centric values?
Notice that any definition of universal values is going to be very difficult to defend if you're doing serious philosophy. You can't just assume that everyone will see the world as you do, or agree with you what the ideal world is. This is what Post-Modernism anticipates and addresses which Modernism does not.
The Modernist mind (Boghossian) struggles to understand why the notion of universal human values is problematic. That's what paradigm-lock does. It's hard to see that rationality itself is a bias and a subjective value. Not everyone cares to be rational and not everyone believes that rationality should be the highest value.
It is not a given that rationality is the best basis for a healthy society. This is an open question. And of course, there is the deeply problematic assumption that there is only one valid form of rationality — my rationality — when in practice there could be dozens of different ways to do and apply rationality.
Is it really rational to force others to be rational, where you define "rational" as that which conforms to your narrow notions of what ought to count as rational? This kind of rationality quickly gets very self-serving. And is it really rational to use rationality to push your biases on everyone else, under the guise of "objectivity" and "universality"?
Thaddeus Russell is a post-modernist. It's illuminating to listen to how a post-modernist thinks in-action. The problem with most "post-modernism" is that it's just considered as an abstract theory but rarely seen explicitly argued in public. That's why the following is so valuable:
"Back in 1990 — decades before he got into politics, Trump reportedly acknowledged owning a copy of Mein Kampf. The admission came in an interview with Vanity Fair shortly after his divorce from his first wife, Ivana. Here's what the magazine reported:
'Last April, perhaps in a surge of Czech nationalism, Ivana Trump told her lawyer Michael Kennedy that from time to time her husband reads a book of Hitler's collected speeches, My New Order, which he keeps in a cabinet by his bed. Kennedy now guards a copy of My New Order in a closet at his office, as if it were a grenade.'
Vanity Fair reporter Marie Brenner asked Trump if his cousin had given up a copy of the book to him. She wrote this is how Trump responded:
'Actually, it was my friend Marty Davis from Paramount who gave me a copy of Mein Kampf, and he's a Jew,' Trump told Brenner.
Brenner then asked Marty Davis whether he gave Trump a copy of the book.
'I did give him a book about Hitler,' Davis told her. "But it was My New Order, Hitler's speeches, not Mein Kampf. I thought he would find it interesting. I am his friend, but I'm not Jewish.'"
Source: ABC News
Robin DiAngelo gets a lot of criticism, but everything she says in the following talk is true. DiAngelo reveals many sneaky, self-deceptive ways the mind is racist. This is important for everyone to learn.
The reason DiAngelo gets so much shit is because people do not want to confront the fundamental truths of racism. Yes, racism is way more subtle and sneaky than just, "I hate black people". Conservatives are in deep denial about this, which is why they troll and raise a stink. Conservatives would rather distract with drama than do inner work. We can learn valuable insights from DiAngelo without going on an all-out SJW crusade. You should be mindful of racism without being obsessive about it.
As part of your consciousness work you should introspect about your subtle racist biases. I certainly have them. It would take a lot of work to get rid of them all. And there are certainly racist biases within your community, sub-community, and culture at large. To deny this is self-deception.
It's amazing to me how much political drama and noise people create just to avoid development. There should be nothing controversial about what DiAngelo said in the video above. This is just basic, basic consciousness work. Stop whining about "wokeness" and just do the development work.
I love that racism is so subtle, sneaky, and intelligent! All self-deception is beautiful in the eye of a sage.
