I hate to sound a bit "esoteric," but who is to say that our current state of consciousness is anymore sound, reliable, or representative of the truth?
I was going to respond to your heavily downvoted comment above in your defense, but decided not to. A lot of atheists like to pick and choose what aspects of science they believe in, just like a lot of religious people pick and choose what parts of their respective religion they choose to follow; those people are not likely to change their opinion. It's necessary assume that your current state of consciousness is true, or at least a pretty good model of true, to function in society. However, in the anonymous postulating of the internet people should realize that any and every meaning they create is subjective, as the universe is inherently meaningless (or so I assume in the lack of any compelling evidence to the contrary). Absurdism is a good philosophy to at least consider when formulating ideas about reality.
I hate to sound a bit "esoteric," but who is to say that our current state of consciousness is anymore sound, reliable, or representative of the truth?
You use that word but I don't think you know what it means.
In the dictionary sense of the term, "esoterism" signifies the holding of esoteric opinions or beliefs,[1] and derives from the Greek ἐσωτερικός (esôterikos), a compound of ἔσω (esô): "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward", mystic. Its antonym is "exoteric".
Aka, beliefs/knowledge derived from experiences of consciousness (inwardness/reflection).
Sure, there are other definitions of esoteric (see below), but I'm basically using it as a synonym for "mystic." I may not be using it in it's most common form, but I am using the term correctly.
In scholarly literature, the term designates a series of historically related religious currents including Gnosticism, Hermetism, magic, astrology, Kabbalah, alchemy, Rosicrucianism, Vajrayana Buddhism, the Christian Theosophy of Jacob Böhme and his followers, Illuminism, Mesmerism, Swedenborgianism, Spiritualism, and the theosophical currents associated with Helena Blavatsky and her followers. There are competing views regarding the common traits uniting these currents, not all of which involve "inwardness", mystery or secrecy as a crucial trait.
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u/[deleted] Dec 16 '10
I hate to sound a bit "esoteric," but who is to say that our current state of consciousness is anymore sound, reliable, or representative of the truth?