PACS 164A - Lecture 05

[thorell9]

One question I have early on is that he talks about the body or the mind initiating the emotion and saying that the mind is the likely culprit when he also gave the example of a woman having her amygdala stimulated causing her to feel anger. There must at least be a possibility for the body to initiate the emotion.

[race4prize]

there are good ideas here but his insistence on pseudoscience to support nonviolence is not helpful... quantum mysticism seems to be a major foundation of his philosophy.

[pulsebreathing]

Totally agree that Ghandi movie portrayed and a nationalist not a peace monger, much less the intellectual side of Ghandi.

[schzx]

What's most disappointing about this is that he shouldn't HAVE to resort to quantum mysticism and non-naturalist beliefs about the mind in order to advocate nonviolence.

If he was able to face reality as it is, he would in fact be able to pursue nonviolence etc. more effectively.

[bundarapapa]

A group is set up in facebook for those who are interested in this course to join, discuss and share. Since youtube does not allow naked url, please search for PACS 164A/164B in facebook.

[farad007]

Being violent is in our genes. But we have a choice to follow it or not. Also i dont believe you can make this whole world a better place for everyone to co exist peacefully.

[juggaloryan3]

Not only is violence in our genes, but so is the ability to "choose" violence or not. Its all in our genes, so some people literally cant help but choose violence.

[farad007]

agreed!!

[mythnow]

sweeet!

[DarkHorseFilm]

I'm thoroughly enjoying these lectures. When they 're over I wonder what I'll have to listen to.

This non-violence stuff and the idea of Dharma living your own life on your own path is pretty cool.

[anjroyd]

yeah? You're an engineer I'm guessing. Why not say books are just tree pulp and ink, words are just throat flapping? You could really make your world view a bit more impoverished.

[anjroyd]

That's a naturally ethnocentric view. Honest too. I think more people believe it than will admit. If race wasn't still so loaded with violence and animosity it might be completely acceptable to voice such an opinion.

[anjroyd]

You lose credibility lumping all non-science classes together, you know. I mean you're no longer arguing that there is something specifically weak about this one, but that literature and psychology and anthropology are all BS. That stance makes you sound like a pinhead.

[anjroyd]

I don't believe Ghandi kept his mind as clean as his words, he was human after all.

[speed8ump]

Psychology? Philosophy? Religion? Writing? Art? Poli Sci? None of these have anything worth studying in depth? How about Meteorology? That's a 'science' with almost nothing but guesses and approximations. Should we not study it because it is too complex to model? Science is entirely about finding models for systems we don't yet understand. Even imperfect models have value.

[speed8ump]

So we claim credit when we institute an unjust practice and then repeal it? Slavery, colonialism, sufferage...not unique to caucasian cultures, but certainly taken to extremes by them.

[speed8ump]

Have you ever considered why Gandhi's methods worked? Have you considered that not all human interactions are explained by coercion or trade? High level college classes are rarely a dump of names and other minutia.

This class is about learning to see the world in a radically different way, with a little bit of detail to support the argument that the new perspective is more useful than the old. It's certainly not complete, and it certainly isn't without flaw, but it isn't pointless.

[hzenun]

Interesting yes... We need opportunity to think... And the excellent book to this is Bible. Today most people lose the deep comprehension about humanity in Bible for minds are linked to think religious and not search about your deeps directions... Suggestion...

[goldenhind1]

Nagler gives a lot of brilliant quotes from ancient Indian texts that I will have to think about for a while.

Does anybody know how that book is spelled from which he got the quote about the indivisbility of conciousness?

[RayC888]

The Yoga Vasishta

[goldenhind1]

Thank you

[chrizmaster]

interesting, i am german but stayed for a year in america to study in berkeley but can't remember this man..

[XxXxEchelonxXxX]

"...science supports non-violence" YES!, YES!, YES! -- I am the most peaceful when I am rational, not when I am emotional