Setting Course

[00:00:01]Howdy y’all [00:00:02]Welcome back. [00:00:02]And namaste. [00:00:04]I want to zoom out here [00:00:05]and help

[00:00:06]you see the bigger picture of what [00:00:07]I'm trying to paint for you. [00:00:09]Now, we're still in chapter [00:00:10]four of this philosophical quest, [00:00:12]which is called setting course

[00:00:14]intercourse, discourse and death. [00:00:18]Setting course is what you do [00:00:19]when you pick your goal, [00:00:21]your destination. [00:00:22]Once you know where you're trying to go,

[00:00:25]once you know where you're heading, [00:00:26]then you set course [00:00:28]or you set, you're [00:00:28]heading towards that goal. [00:00:30]Now, most people,

[00:00:32]especially when they're young, [00:00:33]tend to be a little aimless. [00:00:36]They don't get anywhere in life [00:00:37]because they have short attention spans. [00:00:40]They set their short

[00:00:41]term goals [00:00:42]and they, [00:00:42]you know, [00:00:43]jump from one thing to the next. [00:00:45]And don't get me wrong,

[00:00:46]I'm not judging or criticizing. [00:00:48]You do you. [00:00:49]I've been there. [00:00:50]I'm just trying to observe [00:00:52]what I've noticed over

[00:00:53]my 48 years on this planet. [00:00:55]Now, sometimes an otherwise [00:00:58]aimless individual [00:00:59]has a profound encounter [00:01:01]with the reality of death.

[00:01:04]Often this happens [00:01:05]when someone close to them dies. [00:01:06]It could be a family member, [00:01:08]it could be a friend, a neighbor, [00:01:10]or even a pet or a celebrity

[00:01:12]that they admire, like [00:01:13]Kobe Bryant or Mac [00:01:15]Miller, Cameron Boyce, [00:01:16]Takeoff or Juice Wrld. [00:01:19]To a lesser extent,

[00:01:20]it could even be the death [00:01:21]of a fictional character [00:01:22]like Dumbledore or Mufasa. [00:01:24]Now, of course, a near-death experience [00:01:26]such as a car crash or a mass

[00:01:28]shooting at your school [00:01:29]or a terrorist attack on your office [00:01:31]building [00:01:32]can have a similar and often [00:01:34]more profound effect.

[00:01:36]We generally call this [00:01:37]an existential crisis. [00:01:39]It causes someone to have [00:01:40]a meaningful reflection [00:01:41]on the reality of death,

[00:01:43]which causes them to think about, [00:01:45]you know, [00:01:45]what actually matters in life [00:01:47]and what doesn't. [00:01:49]In some cases,

[00:01:50]this existential reflection [00:01:52]on death [00:01:52]causes them to set course [00:01:54]to set goals and principles in their life [00:01:56]that begin to govern

[00:01:58]how they live their life. [00:02:00]Now, different [00:02:00]philosophers use different words [00:02:02]to describe this. [00:02:03]Some call it an existential purpose.

[00:02:06]Others [00:02:06]call it a vocation, [00:02:08]which is a Latin word for calling. [00:02:10]So a vocation is something [00:02:12]that you are called to do.

[00:02:14]Japanese philosophers [00:02:15]use this word ikigai, [00:02:17]which is something that stands [00:02:18]at the intersection [00:02:19]of what you're good at,

[00:02:20]what you're [00:02:20]passionate about, [00:02:21]what the world around [00:02:23]you needs to be done. [00:02:25]Indian philosophers

[00:02:26]use the word swadharma, [00:02:28]which is a dharma [00:02:29]that the world needs to be done, [00:02:31]which you have particular skill, [00:02:33]talents, gifts and passion

[00:02:35]for doing. For some folks [00:02:37]discerning their existential purpose [00:02:39]or vocation [00:02:40]or ikigai or swadharma or whatever [00:02:42]you want to call it.

[00:02:43]For some folks, [00:02:43]it's easy to discern [00:02:45]what their existential purpose is. [00:02:46]You know, [00:02:47]maybe they're a victim of trauma,

[00:02:48]so they devote their life [00:02:49]to helping others [00:02:50]who are trauma survivors. [00:02:52]Maybe they take great joy from healing [00:02:54]and comforting people who are ill,

[00:02:56]so they become a doctor [00:02:58]or a nurse or a psychologist [00:03:00]for other folks. [00:03:01]It takes time and life [00:03:03]experience to figure out

[00:03:05]what their existential purpose [00:03:06]or a calling or vocation is regardless. [00:03:09]One thing is clear to me [00:03:11]If you truly figure out [00:03:12]what your existential purpose in life is,

[00:03:15]it has a significant impact [00:03:17]on the major decisions [00:03:18]that you make in life. [00:03:20]Using your college years [00:03:21]to try and figure out what that is is

[00:03:25]wise. [00:03:27]As I've emphasized many times before, [00:03:29]philosophy is a mode of discourse [00:03:31]for the sake of training the intellect [00:03:33]by cultivating a desire

[00:03:35]for truth, [00:03:35]wisdom, and justice through inspiration. [00:03:39]The intellect is [00:03:40]the part of the human person [00:03:41]that makes decisions.

[00:03:42]And when we have meaningful discourse [00:03:44]about the reality of death, [00:03:46]we begin to realize [00:03:47]what is actually important to us in life [00:03:50]and what isn't.

[00:03:52]What begins as an existential crisis [00:03:55]can evolve [00:03:55]into an existential discernment, [00:03:58]a discernment of what [00:03:59]your existential purpose is.

[00:04:01]Why are you here? [00:04:02]What makes your life meaningful? [00:04:05]Regardless of what name we give to it. [00:04:07]Vocation calling, ikigai [00:04:09]swadharma or something else,

[00:04:11]that existential purpose sits [00:04:13]and what we might call [00:04:14]the heart [00:04:15]of our systematic philosophy diagram. [00:04:17]Like everything else in the diagram,

[00:04:19]it changes [00:04:20]throughout the course of our lives, [00:04:22]but it changes far [00:04:23]less than our emotions [00:04:24]and states of mind, etc..

[00:04:26]So that's the big picture of Chapter [00:04:28]four setting course. [00:04:30]Now, I wanna zoom back in a little bit [00:04:32]and the first half of this chapter, [00:04:33]we talked about this kid

[00:04:35]named Siddartha Gautama, [00:04:36]and he had a profound [00:04:37]existential crisis [00:04:39]when he was about 20 years old or so. [00:04:41]He was surrounded

[00:04:42]by people who were suffering. [00:04:44]And there didn't seem to be any logic [00:04:45]or reason [00:04:46]or justification [00:04:47]as to why some people had lives

[00:04:49]filled with suffering [00:04:50]and others had lives of privilege, [00:04:52]wealth and opportunity. [00:04:54]He felt like nothing mattered in life. [00:04:56]So he got depressed

[00:04:58]and he sat under a tree. [00:05:00]In other words, [00:05:01]he felt empty and aimless [00:05:03]because he didn't have [00:05:04]an existential purpose,

[00:05:06]raison d'etre, or reason for being. [00:05:09]But through philosophy, [00:05:11]he discovered his existential purpose. [00:05:14]Now his logic went something like this. [00:05:16]Step one Suffering is bad.

[00:05:18]Step two Alleviating suffering is good. [00:05:22]Step three [00:05:23]If you spend this moment right now [00:05:25]alleviating someone else's suffering, [00:05:27]then this moment right now

[00:05:29]becomes meaningful, [00:05:30]purposeful, significant, and worthwhile. [00:05:33]Step four Repeat. [00:05:35]Step three [00:05:36]The more moments

[00:05:37]you spend doing something meaningful, [00:05:39]the more meaningful your life becomes. [00:05:41]What I want to do now [00:05:42]is dive into three different [00:05:44]but closely related

[00:05:45]philosophical insights from the Buddha. [00:05:48]First, let's zoom out [00:05:49]from our [00:05:50]diagram of systematic philosophy. [00:05:52]Next,

[00:05:52]we're going to shift our focus [00:05:54]and zoom in [00:05:55]on three aspects of the Buddha's [00:05:56]teaching anthropology, [00:05:58]ontology and epistemology.

[00:06:01]As we learned in Chapter one, [00:06:02]anthropology is the branch of philosophy [00:06:04]that asks, What does it mean to be human? [00:06:07]Another way to ask this question is [00:06:09]Who am I?

[00:06:10]Or What's the nature of the self? [00:06:13]Now, here [00:06:13]we'll look at what's [00:06:14]usually called [00:06:15]the Buddha's

[00:06:16]doctrine of anAtman or “no Self,” [00:06:19]as we'll see, [00:06:20]Buddha gives us a radically different way [00:06:22]to understand [00:06:23]what we mean by the words

[00:06:25]birth and death. [00:06:27]At the exact same time, I want to zoom in [00:06:29]on the Buddha's ontology, [00:06:31]as we learned in Chapter one. [00:06:32]Ontology is the branch of philosophy

[00:06:34]that investigates [00:06:35]the meaning of the word “being.” [00:06:38]What does it mean [00:06:39]for something to be or to exist? [00:06:42]Here, too, the Buddha

[00:06:43]gives us a lot to think about. [00:06:45]We'll look at what's referred to [00:06:46]as the Buddhist doctrine of pratityasamutpada, [00:06:49]which we can loosely translate [00:06:51]as the doctrine of “mutual arising”

[00:06:54]at the exact same time. [00:06:56]We're also going to focus [00:06:57]on the Buddhist epistemology. [00:06:59]As we learned in Chapter two, [00:07:00]Epistemology is the branch of philosophy

[00:07:02]that focuses on the nature of knowing. [00:07:05]How do we know what we know? [00:07:07]How does knowledge [00:07:07]and perception actually work? [00:07:10]Now why am I going to teach

[00:07:11]all of these [00:07:11]three complex [00:07:13]doctrines at the exact same time? [00:07:16]The reason is, [00:07:17]you really can't separate them.

[00:07:19]To understand one, [00:07:20]you have to understand all three. [00:07:22]Now, I'm going to be honest with you. [00:07:24]What I'm about to teach [00:07:25]is complex and difficult.

[00:07:27]I'm going to move step by step [00:07:29]and try to lead you [00:07:30]towards understanding, [00:07:31]using the same process [00:07:33]that the Buddha used.

[00:07:34]But in order to follow it, [00:07:36]you'll need to pay close attention. [00:07:38]If you get confused along the way, [00:07:40]don't sweat it. [00:07:41]Confusion is normal

[00:07:42]and an essential stage [00:07:44]in learning something new. [00:07:46]Just keep taking notes following along [00:07:48]and the light bulb [00:07:49]will eventually come on for you

[00:07:51]if you remain attentive. [00:07:53]So if you need a mental break, [00:07:55]then now would be a good time [00:07:56]to hit the pause button [00:07:57]and come back when you're ready.

[00:07:59][groans] It’s a good time to stretch, too! [00:08:02]Siddhartha Gautama, [00:08:03]as I mentioned before, [00:08:04]I lived around 500 BCE. [00:08:07]About 700 years later,

[00:08:08]this brilliant philosopher [00:08:10]and poet called Asvaghosa [00:08:12]wrote a long poem [00:08:13]about the Buddha's life and teachings. [00:08:15]Now, this poem is called

[00:08:16]the Buddhacarita [00:08:18]I mention it [00:08:18]because most of what I'm about to teach [00:08:20]you comes from that poem. In Canto [00:08:23]three of that poem

[00:08:24]Asvaghosa tells the same basic story [00:08:26]that I told in the previous video. [00:08:28]Siddhartha grew up in a privileged [00:08:30]and sheltered environment. [00:08:31]One day as an adult, he left his palace

[00:08:34]In Asvaghosa’s version, [00:08:36]Siddhartha was a passenger in a chariot. [00:08:40]We'll come back to that much [00:08:41]later in this philosophical quest. [00:08:43]Now, when he leaves this palace

[00:08:44]in his chariot, [00:08:46]he sees an old person, [00:08:47]then a person with disability, [00:08:49]and then a group of mourners [00:08:50]at a funeral.

[00:08:51]As a result, he gets depressed. [00:08:53]He has an existential crisis [00:08:55]and he sits under a tree [00:08:56]for about two weeks without eating. [00:08:59]In Canto 14, Asvaghosa walks us

[00:09:02]through logically, [00:09:03]carefully, meticulously [00:09:05]through Siddhartha, [00:09:05]his thought process [00:09:06]as he was sitting under that tree.

[00:09:09]Now, for context, don't [00:09:10]forget what we said earlier. [00:09:11]Suffering is bad. [00:09:13]Alleviating suffering is good. [00:09:15]So, Siddhartha,

[00:09:15]his next question [00:09:16]is what causes suffering? [00:09:18]If we can figure out [00:09:19]the cause of suffering, [00:09:20]then we can remove the cause.

[00:09:23]Sometimes the cause is super obvious. [00:09:25]Let's say this person is suffering [00:09:27]because they're starving. [00:09:28]They're starving [00:09:29]because they don't have food.

[00:09:30]Give them food. [00:09:31]Suffering is removed. [00:09:32]Easy. Or: This person is hurt. [00:09:35]They're suffering from wounds or disease. [00:09:38]Treat the wounds. Heal the disease.

[00:09:40]Suffering is removed, [00:09:42]but sometimes [00:09:44]suffering runs deeper [00:09:45]and is more psychological [00:09:46]and philosophical.

[00:09:47]Like nihilistic depression [00:09:49]and existential angst or anxiety. [00:09:52]So let's try [00:09:53]and trace the cause [00:09:54]of those kinds of suffering.

[00:09:57]With that in mind, [00:09:58]let's go back to “classroom Brad” from 2022. [00:10:01]I've added some slightly better graphics [00:10:04]with references to specific verses [00:10:06]in Asvaghosa's Buddhacarita,

[00:10:08]which mostly line up [00:10:09]with what I was teaching. [00:10:10]I add that in case [00:10:10]anyone wants to go back [00:10:12]and read that beautiful poem,

[00:10:13]which I'm happy to supply. [00:10:17]Okay, let's go a little bit deeper [00:10:18]into Buddha. [00:10:19]so He had a little bit more realization [00:10:22]than just this

[00:10:23]although this is a good realization [00:10:25]isn't it. [00:10:26]the word Buddha [00:10:27]We should start there, I guess. [00:10:28]So “buddhi” means

[00:10:30]“intellect.” What does the intellect do? [00:10:33]The intellect [00:10:34]is the part of the human person [00:10:35]that makes decisions. [00:10:37]the other day

[00:10:38]when we were talking about phenomenology [00:10:40]we talked about that “conscious I.” [00:10:42]And then there's the phenomenon. [00:10:44]Where is the phenomenon? [00:10:45]There's the thing itself.

[00:10:47]Good. [00:10:49]There's the phenomenon. [00:10:50]Where is the phenomena? [00:10:52]Yeah. Up here. [00:10:54]Right.

[00:10:54]It’s what we're conscious of -- it's [00:10:55]the object of the conscious mind [00:10:58]the object of the conscious mind. [00:11:01]So when we're asleep, [00:11:02]Or dreaming or imagining or daydreaming,

[00:11:05]then this is it, right? [00:11:07]We're conscious of whatever's [00:11:09]in our head, right? [00:11:10]Whatever phenomenon, [00:11:11]whatever's in our head,

[00:11:12]that's what we're conscious of. [00:11:14]It doesn't [00:11:14]necessarily have to correspond [00:11:16]to something outside, right? [00:11:19]Some sensual

[00:11:21]object out in the world, [00:11:23]So sometimes there's a correspondence [00:11:27]between these two [00:11:28]and sometimes there's not. [00:11:30]Like when I talk about my keys,

[00:11:32]my keys are there, [00:11:33]and I don't see my keys. [00:11:34]So the keys are there to be seen, but [00:11:38]my “conscious I” doesn't [00:11:39]see the phenomenon of the keys

[00:11:41]or when we saw the snake. [00:11:43]the snake that wasn't there, [00:11:45]There was a rope that was there. [00:11:47]But a snake appeared in the mind. [00:11:49]as the object of consciousness.

[00:11:50]So sometimes there's a correlation [00:11:52]between these two [00:11:53]and sometimes there's not, [00:11:54]which was why we talked about it [00:11:56]in chapter two.

[00:11:56]And the whole point of chapter [00:11:57]two was what? [00:11:59]How do we know what we know? [00:12:00]How do we know what we know? [00:12:01]So how do we know

[00:12:02]what we're seeing in our head corresponds [00:12:05]to what's out there in the world or not. [00:12:07]And the answer to that is phenomenology, [00:12:09]Phenomenological method, [00:12:10]that sort of thing.

[00:12:11]but now we're kind of [00:12:12]talking a little bit more, [00:12:13]we're moving a little bit more [00:12:15]in this direction, and “buddhi” [00:12:17]the “buddhi” one more step.

[00:12:18]so now we've got four columns here. [00:12:21]The Buddha, [00:12:22]this word, comes from this word, [00:12:24]which means, [00:12:25]the one who's fully awake, right?

[00:12:27]We had these different states [00:12:28]of consciousness [00:12:29]that we went through -- the “chaturpad., [00:12:31]What were those [00:12:32]four states of consciousness?

[00:12:35]Yeah. [00:12:36]Enlightenment at the top. [00:12:37]The ordinary waking state and deep sleep. [00:12:41]So enlightenment. [00:12:42]That's the “buddhi” - The Buddha.

[00:12:44]“Buddha-state” “Buddha-hood” or [00:12:48]“Buddha-ness” [00:12:50]It's a state of total awareness. [00:12:53]“Buddha” = [00:12:54]just means “The Enlightened One.”

[00:12:56]It's like the lights being turned on. [00:12:58]The this word enlightenment, actually. [00:13:01]the “light” there is super important. [00:13:04]The way that, another philosopher, [00:13:06]another philosopher named Shankara,

[00:13:07]from the eighth century. [00:13:09]CE Shankara explained it like this, [00:13:14]if you've got an object there, [00:13:17]like, let's say the marker. [00:13:18]The marker is there.

[00:13:19]You can see it, obviously, [00:13:21]If there was no light in here at all, [00:13:24]if all the lights were off [00:13:25]and I moved it somewhere. [00:13:27]And it was completely black, No

[00:13:29]light from the windows or anything. [00:13:30]It was a completely black, [00:13:32]then you would have [00:13:32]no idea where I put it [00:13:34]The marker would still be there.

[00:13:36]Right? It didn't stop existing. [00:13:38]When the lights are off [00:13:39]still there, you just can't see it [00:13:42]when the lights are off. [00:13:42]So you need some sort of light source

[00:13:45]in order to see that external thing. [00:13:48]So you need light [00:13:49]shining on the sensual object [00:13:51]in order to create this phenomenon [00:13:54]in our head,

[00:13:55]which in order to see it [00:13:56]with our conscious mind. [00:13:58]But like we said, [00:13:59]sometimes you can see something [00:14:01]-- somebody can point to something

[00:14:03]-- and you still don't see it, [00:14:04]So it could be like, [00:14:06]Hey, look, your keys are right there [00:14:07]and you still don't see them, right? [00:14:09]That example

[00:14:10]or sometimes, [00:14:11]you know, more abstractly, [00:14:12]if someone's explaining something to you, [00:14:15]Especially a philosophical idea [00:14:16]or something, they can explain it to you.

[00:14:19]But you still don't understand it, right? [00:14:20]The lights don't come on. [00:14:22]You don't get it. [00:14:22]You don't see it, Right. [00:14:24]when you're in math class

[00:14:25]or something like that, [00:14:27]you ever have something [00:14:29]where, like, [00:14:29]your math teacher [00:14:30]is trying to explain something

[00:14:31]and you just don't get it [00:14:33]and then all of a [00:14:33]sudden something clicks and you get it? [00:14:37]What do you say when that happens? [00:14:42]So, like.

[00:14:44]The light bulb went on. [00:14:46]Light bulb, right? [00:14:47]Or you say, Oh, “I see now.” Oh, I see. [00:14:51]“Now I see.” So [00:14:52]because the light bulb went on

[00:14:54]so that the light bulb goes on and I see. [00:14:57]So that light is like this light here [00:15:00]where you have [00:15:01]a more profound understanding [00:15:03]-- an intellectual understanding,

[00:15:04]not just the rational understanding. [00:15:06]Cool? [00:15:07]okay, [00:15:07]so let's get a little bit more [00:15:09]to his rational understanding.

[00:15:11]he was concerned about suffering [00:15:14]So he's trying to follow logically. [00:15:17]the first person [00:15:18]he saw was an old woman, right? [00:15:20]An old woman who was begging for food.

[00:15:22]She couldn't hear, [00:15:23]she couldn't see, Right. [00:15:25]Begging for food. [00:15:25]And then he saw [00:15:26]a person who was, sick or disabled.

[00:15:30]and then he saw mourners, [00:15:32]And was conscious [00:15:33]of the reality of death. [00:15:34]And he thought, okay, [00:15:36]what's the cause of these things?

[00:15:38]is there one thing that we can point to [00:15:40]that is the cause [00:15:42]of all three of these things? [00:15:44]What's required for a death to happen? [00:15:47]life, Right?

[00:15:48]So, and what's where does life come from? [00:15:52]What's the beginning of life? [00:15:55]so Birth. [00:15:57]So birth causes death for sure. [00:16:00]birth sometimes causes sickness.

[00:16:02]Can’t have sickness [00:16:03]unless there's a birth and old age, [00:16:05]if you're lucky. Right? [00:16:06]So old age sickness [00:16:08]and death are caused by birth.

[00:16:10]Without a birth, [00:16:11]there's none of these things. Right? [00:16:13]Then what is [00:16:16]birth caused by [00:16:21]Yeah.

[00:16:23]Birth is caused by sex. [00:16:27]Look at that. [00:16:27]It's like up there, right? [00:16:29]birth is caused by sex. [00:16:31]What causes sex?

[00:16:37]Sure. [00:16:37]Yeah. [00:16:38]Lust or desire, right? [00:16:40]Yeah. [00:16:41]Unfortunately, there are some more steps

[00:16:43]between desire and sex. Right. [00:16:45]I’m still working on those steps, [00:16:48]but, Ultimately, it comes down to desire. [00:16:51]If there's no desire, [00:16:52]then there's not going to be any sex.

[00:16:54]Right? [00:16:54]and so what causes [00:16:57]desire? Hormones, those sort of things. [00:17:00]But, at the most logical level, [00:17:02]there's no rhyme

[00:17:03]or reason to my color scheme. [00:17:04]desire is caused by sensuality. [00:17:07]By sensuality what I mean? [00:17:15]I don't mean like romance [00:17:18]and candles and flowers and chianti,

[00:17:22]but Yeah, [00:17:23]seeing, hearing, tasting, touching. [00:17:26]Right. [00:17:26]Your five senses. [00:17:28]So we desire things that we see.

[00:17:30]We desire [00:17:31]things that we hear, [00:17:33]We desire things that we smell, [00:17:35]So our desire comes from seeing things [00:17:38]that we want, right?

[00:17:39]you ever had it where [00:17:41]you know, [00:17:41]you're not [00:17:42]you're not particularly hungry, right? [00:17:44]Not like, particularly hungry.

[00:17:46]And then all of a sudden [00:17:47]you smell something that's, like, [00:17:50]smells really, really good. [00:17:51]And you're like, Okay, now I'm hungry. [00:17:53]That's why I'm so hungry now.

[00:17:57]Yeah. [00:17:57]So that desire begins with our sensation, [00:18:01]sensuality, and what causes [00:18:05]our sensuality? [00:18:06]We're getting more philosophical,

[00:18:07]maybe sensuality caused by our sense [00:18:11]organs, So seeing is caused by our eyes [00:18:15]hearing caused by our ears, etc.. [00:18:19]but as we’ve already shown, [00:18:22]sometimes my eyes can see

[00:18:24]something like my keys. [00:18:26]My keys might be there, [00:18:28]but I don't see them. Right. [00:18:30]It could be like, [00:18:32]We went through that the other day.

[00:18:33]this is like [00:18:35]critically important. [00:18:37]Change happens right here, actually. [00:18:40]Right there. [00:18:41]What happens after this point?

[00:18:43]The light doesn't go into your brain. [00:18:46]What what happens at this point? [00:18:48]do the signals get there? [00:18:49]So neurotransmitters [00:18:51]which travel along nerve cells.

[00:18:53]electrical signals travel [00:18:54]along those nerve cells [00:18:56]in the case of the eye, [00:18:57]they go to your visual [00:18:59]cortex is at the back of the brain

[00:19:01]link back here. [00:19:02]Then what does your brain do [00:19:03]as your visual cortex do? [00:19:05]Basically it recreates this, right? [00:19:08]It recreates an image, your brain

[00:19:11]constructs an image of the world [00:19:14]that sees out there. Right. [00:19:15]So sometimes something can be visible, [00:19:19]Visible is different than seeing it. [00:19:21]or your Math teacher

[00:19:22]explained something and it's like, Well, [00:19:23]I don't see it I don't get it right. [00:19:26]It's still gettable. [00:19:27]It's still seeable. [00:19:28]I just haven't seen it yet. Right.

[00:19:29]So just because something is visible [00:19:32]doesn't mean that we see it, right? [00:19:34]So there's got to be [00:19:35]some sort of cognition behind it, [00:19:38]So that our sense organs.

[00:19:41]Right. [00:19:41]We did this whole thing here, right. [00:19:44]So just because there's some phenomenon, [00:19:46]So there's some sensual object [00:19:48]and then we see that

[00:19:49]which creates this phenomenon. [00:19:51]Although that phenomenon [00:19:53]can also be created [00:19:53]by our imagination [00:19:55]or our memories or that sort of thing.

[00:19:58]But that doesn't necessarily [00:19:59]mean that we see it. [00:20:00]Like if I'm distracted [00:20:02]and I don't see my keys, [00:20:03]or maybe I see a snake

[00:20:05]instead of the rope [00:20:06]that's actually there. [00:20:07]So this process here, these two [00:20:11]we can call cognition, right? [00:20:15]so cognition or a cognitive event,

[00:20:17]In order for there [00:20:18]to be a cognition, [00:20:20]there needs to be a cognition [00:20:21]of something. [00:20:22]So if you see something

[00:20:24]and you can't make sense of it [00:20:25]or you don't know what it is, [00:20:26]then you say, What is that? [00:20:29]Because you can't [00:20:30]cognitively appraise it.

[00:20:31]So you're like, [00:20:32]Help me out, [00:20:33]What is it, Mom or dad [00:20:34]or teacher or whatever? Explain it to me. [00:20:36]if you're a kid,

[00:20:37]and you point to something and say, [00:20:39]what is that? [00:20:39]What kind of answer are you looking for? [00:20:41]what do you expect your parents to... [00:20:43]what kind of answer

[00:20:44]do you expect them to tell you? ... [00:20:45]a word. [00:20:47]Tell me: What's that thing called? [00:20:49]What’s the name of that thing? [00:20:50]What is that thing?

[00:20:51]And then they say, that's a dog [00:20:53]or that's a cat [00:20:54]or that's a Lotus [00:20:56]or Lamborghini or something. [00:20:57]they give you some word,

[00:20:59]so what are the things that we are [00:21:01]cognitive of? [00:21:03]So they can take the form of [00:21:05]a visible image. [00:21:06]something that we can see in our heads,

[00:21:08]like the snake that we see in our heads [00:21:11]that's not actually there, [00:21:12]we have an image of the snake [00:21:14]in our head. [00:21:14]we could have, sounds, too

[00:21:17]like I said the other day, [00:21:18]like you can hear a sound in your head, [00:21:20]you can hear your [00:21:22]grandfather's voice [00:21:23]maybe, or something like that.

[00:21:25]Even though they're not around, [00:21:26]you can hear that in your head or a song [00:21:28]that's a lullaby [00:21:29]that your mom saying [00:21:30]when you were a kid

[00:21:32]Or just a favorite song or whatever. [00:21:34]You can have [00:21:34]these sounds [00:21:35]that are [00:21:36]objects of your consciousness,

[00:21:37]so you can have feelings, [00:21:39]emotions, all these kind of things [00:21:41]can sort of be objects [00:21:42]of our consciousness, [00:21:43]But we also have names,

[00:21:46]So you could say, names and let's call [00:21:49]these things [00:21:52]forms. [00:21:53]so we are conscious of names and forms. [00:21:57]Okay.

[00:21:58]So in order for there to be a cognition, [00:22:01]the sense organs create these phenomena, [00:22:05]and the phenomenon is always [00:22:07]either a name or form. [00:22:11]A form

[00:22:12]something like a visual image [00:22:14]or a sound or a feeling or, a smell. [00:22:18]Whenever I think of my grandfather, [00:22:19]I think of the way he smelled. [00:22:21]Like, I didn't know him that well

[00:22:23]because he died when I was very young. [00:22:24]But I remember going to his house [00:22:25]and like going to his room [00:22:27]and there was a smell there, you know? [00:22:28]I mean, he was old,

[00:22:29]but that smell is very vivid in my mind, [00:22:33]even more than his face, actually. [00:22:34]I remember his smell [00:22:35]more than I remember his face. [00:22:36]so names and forms

[00:22:39]and these names and forms are the objects [00:22:43]of our conscious mind. [00:22:46]so that brings us around [00:22:47]to this “conscious [00:22:49]“conscious I”

[00:22:50]is always conscious of phenomena, [00:22:52]which are [00:22:53]always in the form of NAMES or FORMS [00:22:56]And so these phenomena are perceived [00:22:59]by the “conscious I”

[00:23:02]remember back [00:23:03]to those states of consciousness [00:23:05]in the waking state, [00:23:07]we've got cognitive [00:23:08]I, cognitive of phenomena

[00:23:11]which correspond to things [00:23:13]in the outside world. Dream state. [00:23:16]This part is happening, but they don't [00:23:18]there's not necessarily [00:23:19]any correspondence to things

[00:23:20]in the outside world, right? [00:23:22]Cognition is happening here, [00:23:24]but without correspondence [00:23:25]or also when we like see a snake, [00:23:28]when there's actually just a rope

[00:23:29]or when I don't see my keys, etc.. [00:23:32]So this is happening. [00:23:33]We call that the dream state. [00:23:35]So you don't have to be like asleep [00:23:37]for the dream state to happen, right?

[00:23:38]You just have to be distracted [00:23:40]or something like that. [00:23:41]but then there's another state. [00:23:42]So what's the other state? [00:23:46]So what, characterizes deep sleep?

[00:23:49]So this isn't happening, [00:23:51]There's no “conscious I”. [00:23:53]You're literally unconscious, right? [00:23:54]Or in a coma or you're out of it. [00:23:57]there's nothing going on here.

[00:23:59]there's nothing going on in his stupid [00:24:01]little head. [00:24:02]So in order [00:24:03]for the “conscious I” to manifest. [00:24:06]or to become visible

[00:24:08]then there needs to be something [00:24:10]of which it is conscious, right? [00:24:12]The conscious. [00:24:12]I must be conscious of something. [00:24:17]That's definitely something you should write down.

[00:24:19]The “conscious I” must be conscious of something. [00:24:23]What is it conscious of? [00:24:32]yeah, phenomena, names and forms. [00:24:34]Right. [00:24:35]Where do those names and forms exist?

[00:24:38]How do they exist? [00:24:39]What's the nature of their existence? [00:24:41]How do they exist? [00:24:43]Where do they exist? [00:24:44]Where do phenomena exist?

[00:24:46]Up here. [00:24:46]There's the thing itself. Good. [00:24:50]There's the phenomenon. [00:24:51]Right? Phenomena exist up here. [00:24:53]Where are they created?

[00:24:54]They're created by the mind. Right? [00:24:57]So phenomena exist [00:24:58]only as an object of consciousness, [00:25:01]and the “conscious [00:25:01]I” only becomes manifest

[00:25:03]when it's conscious of something. [00:25:05]Follow? [00:25:07]This is a big, important... [00:25:08]this is a big significant thing [00:25:09]that we're doing right here.

[00:25:11]Okay, [00:25:11]So the Buddha, [00:25:12]when he's trying to trace [00:25:14]the logical cause [00:25:15]of old age, sickness, and death,

[00:25:17]he's trying to trace the cause [00:25:19]of suffering or [00:25:21]he's trying [00:25:21]to trace the cause of everything [00:25:23]And he arrives here, right?

[00:25:24]So old age, [00:25:25]sickness and death are caused by birth, [00:25:27]which is caused by sex, [00:25:28]which is caused by desire, [00:25:29]which is caused by sensuality,

[00:25:30]which is caused by sense organs, [00:25:32]which produce phenomena in our head, [00:25:34]or correlate to phenomena in our head. [00:25:36]But those phenomena in our head [00:25:37]are created

[00:25:38]by our head, [00:25:39]created by a conscious mind [00:25:40]sometimes because they correlate [00:25:42]to things in the outside world. [00:25:43]When we're in the waking state

[00:25:44]and sometimes [00:25:45]not right when we're dreaming [00:25:47]or we're imagining things [00:25:49]So in either case, [00:25:50]they're still creations of the mind,

[00:25:52]either creations [00:25:53]that are [00:25:54]caused in some sense by the sense organs. [00:25:57]Hopefully if we're awake and alert [00:25:58]and paying attention, or not

[00:26:01]And in either case, [00:26:02]their existence [00:26:04]depends on the “conscious I.” [00:26:05]They don't exist [00:26:06]when you're not thinking of them.

[00:26:08]My keys exist, [00:26:09]whether we're looking at them or not. [00:26:11]But they only become a phenomenon [00:26:13]when you look at them, [00:26:14]It only becomes an object

[00:26:15]of conscious mind [00:26:17]when you're looking at them [00:26:19]or thinking of them. Right? [00:26:20]So just because the sensual thing exists [00:26:24]doesn't mean that it's a phenomenon.

[00:26:25]It only becomes a phenomenon [00:26:26]when it becomes an object [00:26:28]of the conscious mind. Make sense? [00:26:31]Yeah, totally. That makes sense. [00:26:32]That makes sense.

[00:26:33]So where do you go from here? [00:26:37]We've arrived at a loop, right? [00:26:39]This is caused by. This is caused by. [00:26:40]This is caused by. This is caused by. [00:26:42]This is caused by. This is caused by.

[00:26:43]This which is caused by this [00:26:46]So we've arrived at a circle, [00:26:48]If you've ever seen Zen Buddhist monks, [00:26:51]they just kind of draw [00:26:54]circles, form is emptiness, and emptiness

[00:26:56]is form or sunyata (in Sanskrit) [00:27:00]the emptiness of this process. [00:27:03]So the conscious “I” - this “ego,” [00:27:06]what we call “ego.” Who am I at [00:27:10]any given moment?

[00:27:12]Depends on [00:27:13]the phenomena that I'm aware of, [00:27:15]What I'm conscious of this is who I am. [00:27:19]I psychologically Philosophically, [00:27:23]I am the one that is

[00:27:24]conscious of this thing [00:27:26]at this moment, [00:27:27]which only exists [00:27:28]as an object of my consciousness. [00:27:30]This is it.

[00:27:31]Right [00:27:31]some other philosophers, [00:27:33]some other philosophies [00:27:34]said that behind this behind all of this. [00:27:38]There's another self,

[00:27:41]And that self is who I am, really Right. [00:27:45]What does the word real mean? [00:27:46]Are using the word real in this class. [00:27:47]un-changing, right? [00:27:50]So who is this “real I”

[00:27:52]Will the real Slim Shady please stand up. [00:27:54]Who is the real I? [00:27:55]The real self, That unchanging self. [00:27:58]But we already said, [00:28:00]I'm constantly changing all the time.

[00:28:02]So this idea that there's [00:28:03]some sort of self [00:28:05]which is unchanging, [00:28:06]that's the same, [00:28:07][name] The same [name]

[00:28:09]or the same [name] [00:28:10]or the same [name] from beginning to end [00:28:13]that you're always the same self [00:28:16]from beginning to end, right? [00:28:17]Even though

[00:28:19]who you are at any given [00:28:20]moment is always subject to change. [00:28:22]Right? so this is a common philosophy. [00:28:25]Buddha said here's [00:28:27]what the Buddha said and I'm paraphrasing

[00:28:29]the Buddha said the hypothesis of self [00:28:33]is logically unnecessary. [00:28:36]the doctrine is known as the doctrine of anAtman (no Self) [00:28:42]an meaning “no” and atman meaning self. [00:28:46]But it's really sort of this

[00:28:48]bigger, unchanging real, unchanging self. [00:28:52]So there is [00:28:53]this “I” [00:28:54]that's constantly changing every moment, [00:28:56]Any time we're conscious of something

[00:28:58]that's a different “conscious I” [00:29:01]But then the Atman [00:29:02]is that “unchanging [00:29:04]real Self” [00:29:05]that persists

[00:29:06]throughout all of those moments [00:29:07]of change. [00:29:08]And Buddha didn't say, [00:29:10]well, you can't disprove that. [00:29:12]Right? Buddha

[00:29:13]didn't say [00:29:14]what he really said was [00:29:15]that this self [00:29:17]is not logically necessary. Right? [00:29:19]You could believe it or not believe it,

[00:29:21]but it's a matter of belief. [00:29:23]It's not a matter of logic. [00:29:26]Makes sense? Solid? [00:29:29]Questions? Confusion? [00:29:33]Thoughts.?

[00:29:35]Got it. Cool cool? [00:29:36]Okay, [00:29:37]I know that was extremely confusing [00:29:39]and probably pretty [00:29:40]frustrating for some folks.

[00:29:42]So let me review a few points [00:29:44]and try to add some clarity. [00:29:45]Let's start at this absolutely key point [00:29:48]where something very significant happens [00:29:50]to make it a little bit easier.

[00:29:52]I'm going to focus on vision, [00:29:53]but the same points [00:29:54]that I'm going to make apply [00:29:55]to the other senses, [00:29:56]like hearing,

[00:29:57]tasting, touching and smelling. [00:29:59]When light enters our eyes [00:30:01]and the rods and cones [00:30:03]in our eyeballs convert [00:30:04]that light energy into sense data,

[00:30:07]this is super significant. [00:30:09]I can't overemphasize [00:30:10]how significant this is. [00:30:12]it's often called the cut [00:30:14]light stops in our eyeballs.

[00:30:15]It doesn't get to our brain. Right. [00:30:18]Instead, [00:30:18]the optic nerve sends [00:30:19]electrical impulses to our visual cortex, [00:30:22]which is kind of like

[00:30:23]a data processing computer [00:30:25]that takes all of that data and CREATES (key term!) a mental image [00:30:32]I heard this one [00:30:33]philosopher, tenured Duke professor [00:30:35]describe it like this.

[00:30:37]This is just an allegory, [00:30:38]but I think it's pretty helpful. [00:30:40]Let's imagine [00:30:40]that there's a movie theater [00:30:42]inside of your brain.

[00:30:44]Now, you could think about [00:30:45]your visual cortex, [00:30:46]sort of like the movie screen [00:30:48]and your auditory cortex [00:30:49]would be the speakers

[00:30:51]and the “conscious I” [00:30:52]or ego is like this [00:30:53]tiny little [00:30:54]you sitting in a chair alone [00:30:56]in this movie theater.

[00:30:57]Now that little you [00:30:59]sitting in the chair [00:31:00]watching this movie [00:31:01]thinks that the images it's watching [00:31:03]and the sounds that it's hearing

[00:31:05]are coming straight [00:31:06]from the outside world. [00:31:08]But they're not. [00:31:09]The images and sounds [00:31:10]and smells

[00:31:11]and sensations are actually created [00:31:13]by the brain. [00:31:15]Now, when everything is working properly, [00:31:17]then what [00:31:18]that little ego sees,

[00:31:19]hears and smells [00:31:20]does correspond to the sensible objects [00:31:23]out there in the world. [00:31:25]We've been calling this the waking state. [00:31:27]Now, sometimes

[00:31:28]when we're asleep, [00:31:29]the movies keep playing, [00:31:30]even though our eyes are closed. [00:31:32]All right. [00:31:33]What's on tonight, dream production.?

[00:31:34]We call those dreams. [00:31:36]But it's important [00:31:37]to remember two things. [00:31:38]First, [00:31:39]those dreams are created by our mind.

[00:31:42]Second, [00:31:43]the same exact thing is also happening [00:31:45]when we're awake. [00:31:47]Now, [00:31:47]what does all this have to do

[00:31:48]with Buddhist philosophy? [00:31:50]Well, the Buddha pointed out [00:31:51]a couple of important things. [00:31:53]First, that the conscious eye, [00:31:55]the little dude in the chair,

[00:31:56]is necessarily conscious of something. [00:31:59]It can't be conscious [00:32:00]unless there's something [00:32:01]to be conscious of. [00:32:03]If there's nothing to be conscious of,

[00:32:06]then it will create it. [00:32:08]Why does that matter? [00:32:09]Well, it means that the “conscious I” is [00:32:12]ontologically dependent upon phenomena. [00:32:15]Big words.

[00:32:17]Second, the phenomena [00:32:18]of which [00:32:19]the “conscious I” is [00:32:20]conscious are creations [00:32:22]of that conscious I.

[00:32:23]They only exist as objects [00:32:25]of the conscious mind. [00:32:27]That means that the phenomena [00:32:28]are ontologically dependent [00:32:30]upon the conscious I.

[00:32:32]Taken together, [00:32:33]that means that [00:32:33]the conscious “I” or “Ego” and [00:32:43]That's kind of a big deal. [00:32:45]In Sanskrit, this is called the doctrine of pratityasamutpada or “mutual arising.”

[00:32:50]So the next time someone says to you, [00:32:52]“That's just your subjective opinion,” [00:32:54]or “Let's look at this objectively,” [00:32:57]then you can explain to them that [00:32:58]subject and object are mutually constitutive correlates that ontologically arise together and depend upon one another for their being.

[00:33:09]This means that [00:33:09]there is an ontological codependence [00:33:11]of mind and thought. [00:33:13]Ontological co-dependence [00:33:15]means that one can't exist

[00:33:17]without the other. [00:33:17]They depend on one [00:33:19]another for their existence. [00:33:20]My mind is my ego, [00:33:25]This is what I'm referring to.

[00:33:26]I am a knower, [00:33:28]but I can't be a knower [00:33:30]unless I know something. [00:33:32]So being a knower ontologically depends on knowledge. [00:33:36]But that knowledge

[00:33:37]is not just something in my brain. [00:33:40]It's a part of me. [00:33:41]I am what I know. [00:33:43]What I know is a part of me. [00:33:45]To be a thinker means to have thoughts.

[00:33:48]But those thoughts are phenomena [00:33:49]that are created by me. [00:33:51]I can't be a dreamer [00:33:52]unless I have a dream. [00:33:54]But the dream is mine.

[00:33:56]It's me. [00:33:57]I can't remember [00:33:58]unless I remember some memory. [00:34:00]But my memories are who I am. [00:34:03]They're a part of me.

[00:34:05]The memories depend [00:34:07]and the rememberER [00:34:09]Can't remember without the memory. [00:34:12]Which again is me. [00:34:14]But it also means that who

[00:34:16]I am at [00:34:17]any given moment is constantly changing [00:34:20]because the nature of my “self” [00:34:22]as a conscious perceiver [00:34:23]ontologically depends

[00:34:24]upon the phenomena [00:34:25]that I consciously perceive [00:34:27]at any given moment. [00:34:29]In the doctrine of anAtman (or no Self) [00:34:31]Buddha said that it's fine

[00:34:32]to believe that [00:34:33]there's a real “I” - a Self [00:34:36]that I always am, a me [00:34:38]that never changes. [00:34:39]But his philosophy demonstrates

[00:34:41]that it is logically unnecessary. [00:34:44]Today there are Buddhists [00:34:45]who believe in the self [00:34:47]and there are Buddhists [00:34:48]who don't believe in the self.

[00:34:49]The Buddha argued [00:34:50]that the hypothesis [00:34:51]of an unchanging, [00:34:53]enduring self is logically unnecessary. [00:34:56]I can believe that

[00:34:57]there's a Brad [00:34:58]that always is and forever the same. [00:35:02]But the only thing we have evidence for [00:35:04]is that Brad is a conscious perceiver [00:35:07]that is in a constant state of change.

[00:35:10]In fact, [00:35:11]Buddha follows the logic [00:35:12]even one step further. [00:35:14]Since I am in a constant state of change, [00:35:17]since the conscious,

[00:35:17]I is ontologically dependent [00:35:19]upon the phenomena [00:35:20]I perceive at any given moment. [00:35:22]Then I die and I am born again [00:35:27]and again and again.

[00:35:28]From moment to moment, [00:35:30]from breath to breath. [00:35:32]In other words, [00:35:33]Buddha [00:35:33]radically reinterprets

[00:35:35]the words birth and death [00:35:37]in the same way that a river changes [00:35:40]from moment to moment. [00:35:41]So, too, who [00:35:42]I am changes

[00:35:44]as my stream of consciousness changes. [00:35:47]In fact, the goal of Buddhist meditation [00:35:50]is to be still, to be still enough [00:35:53]to observe the cycle of birth [00:35:55]and death that arises and passes

[00:35:57]with each moment and each breath [00:36:01]by radically but logically. [00:36:03]Reinterpreting ontology, epistemology, [00:36:06]anthropology, birth and death. [00:36:08]The Buddha helps us to clear out

[00:36:09]all that mental clutter and focus [00:36:12]on what truly matters, which is who I am [00:36:15]right here and right now. [00:36:19]So to summarize, [00:36:20]as Buddha

[00:36:21]explained, who I am [00:36:23]is both the conscious perceiver [00:36:25]and the phenomena [00:36:26]that I perceive [00:36:27]these two mutually arise

[00:36:29]and ontologically [00:36:30]depend upon one another. [00:36:32]This means that [00:36:33]the answer to the question Who am I? [00:36:35]Changes with every moment.

[00:36:37]Every moment one Brad dies [00:36:40]and another Brad is born [00:36:42]and I can give purpose and meaning [00:36:44]to each and every moment by observing it, [00:36:47]honoring it, appreciating it,

[00:36:49]being aware of it. [00:36:50]And whenever the opportunity arises, [00:36:53]use it to alleviate suffering. [00:36:55]The last thing I want to add [00:36:57]is about enlightenment.

[00:36:58]Enlightenment or Buddha-hood or Nirvana [00:37:01]is not some state that a person [00:37:03]attains once and for all. [00:37:05]Rather, it's a state of total awareness. [00:37:07]It's a state of being fully attentive

[00:37:10]to the birth and death of the ego [00:37:12]with each passing moment [00:37:14]and fully attentive to the sense data [00:37:16]that streaming in through our eyes, [00:37:18]ears, nose, mouth and skin,

[00:37:21]the phenomenal content [00:37:22]of our conscious perception [00:37:24]define who we are. [00:37:26]And if we minimize the role [00:37:28]that our ego plays in that process,

[00:37:30]then we become in a very real way, [00:37:34]identified with something [00:37:35]infinitely larger [00:37:37]than that lonely little dude sitting in the CAVE of the movie theater in our heads. [00:37:43]let's try and think about sex.

[00:37:45]want to talk about the relationship [00:37:46]between sex and death. [00:37:49]what's the point of sex [00:37:50]And what's the point of reproduction [00:37:52]Because

[00:37:55]we're going to die, right? [00:37:57]So intercourse creates life. [00:38:00]It's procreative, [00:38:01]It makes more life [00:38:03]so that life can keep going.

[00:38:04]Because the life that's here [00:38:06]is going to die. Straightforward, right? [00:38:09]So then Sex is a way to transcend [00:38:13]Sex is a kind of genesis. [00:38:15]It's a kind of creation

[00:38:17]a procreation [00:38:18]or creation of a new being Freud [00:38:21]talks about the sex drive [00:38:22]and the death drive. Right. [00:38:23]We have this

[00:38:24]this drive for sex, [00:38:26]which is [00:38:27]to make sure that we have intercourse, [00:38:29]which is to make sure that we procreate [00:38:32]so that there's life after we die.

[00:38:35]And when we were talking about this [00:38:37]in chapter two, [00:38:38]we talked about the unzipping [00:38:41]and the re-zipping. [00:38:42]So you've got half of your DNA

[00:38:45]gets passed on to the next generation [00:38:49]or whatever, So it's not me. [00:38:51]My kids aren't me, [00:38:52]but they're not “not-me.” mean, I'm fine. [00:38:55]I can swim,

[00:38:56]you know, [00:38:56]but I'm certainly not going to win [00:38:58]any like, swim races. [00:38:59]on the one day [00:39:02]that it really mattered, on the one day

[00:39:05]where the race [00:39:06]actually counted on that one day [00:39:10]I was the fastest swimmer [00:39:12]as are you, right? [00:39:14]They can't become human

[00:39:16]without having been the fastest swimmer [00:39:19]on that one day that really mattered. [00:39:21]sex is the creation, it's [00:39:23]the genesis is the beginning, [00:39:25]that begins

[00:39:25]with the fastest swimmer [00:39:27]and then ends at death [00:39:29]So death is the end of all possibilities. [00:39:33]Sex is the actualization [00:39:36]of the first possibility. Yeah, fine.

[00:39:39]Oh. [00:39:40]I'm a little confused [00:39:41]because I don't always think that [00:39:43]it's like Yeah. [00:39:45]I mean,

[00:39:46]not arguing against any of that, right? [00:39:48]But nevertheless, [00:39:49]biologically, there's a drive, [00:39:51]like a hormonal drive to reproduce, [00:39:55]which is largely due to the fact that

[00:39:57]organisms die. Isn’t it? [00:40:00]what are we [00:40:01]Or because it can make life meaningful, [00:40:03]And part of the way [00:40:03]it can make life meaningful

[00:40:05]is because there's a part of me [00:40:06]that's here after I'm [00:40:08]dead, Something [00:40:08]that's going to live on after me. [00:40:12]I mean, I'm not arguing against you.

[00:40:14]Take all your points, the [00:40:18]So yeah, so [00:40:18]I'm not arguing against anything [00:40:20]that you just said, right? [00:40:21]Anything that either of you just said.

[00:40:23]But my point is simply, [00:40:24]is that philosophy begins [00:40:26]with a meaningful reflection on death. [00:40:28]And that reflection on death [00:40:30]is always

[00:40:31]going to be inextricably [00:40:32]linked from a discussion about sex, [00:40:36]that sex and death go hand in hand [00:40:39]in the Book of Genesis, in Genesis [00:40:42]Chapter three.

[00:40:43]Right. [00:40:43]Sex and death [00:40:44]are taught at the same time [00:40:45]that sex and death [00:40:46]are inextricably linked.

[00:40:48]Sex and death Are both revealed [00:40:50]at the same time. [00:40:51]Genesis chapter three, [00:40:52]this is the first time [00:40:53]that we're introduced

[00:40:54]in the text [00:40:55]to the ideas of death and sex. [00:40:58]And they both come at the same time, [00:41:00]There's these two trees. [00:41:01]One is the tree of life.

[00:41:02]And if you don't eat of the tree of life, [00:41:04]then you die. [00:41:05]And the other is the tree [00:41:06]of knowledge of good and evil, [00:41:08]you know, philosophy and ethics,

[00:41:10]And once they eat of [00:41:12]the tree of knowledge [00:41:13]of good [00:41:14]and bad or ethics, [00:41:15]once they learn about ethics,

[00:41:16]then they also recognize, [00:41:19]the ethical implications of sex [00:41:21]And then that also closes them off [00:41:22]from the Tree of Life. [00:41:23]So sex and death are usually directly

[00:41:26]accompanied with one another [00:41:27]when we teach, most cultures [00:41:29]teach them together [00:41:30]because they're, [00:41:31]bookends in this sort of way,

[00:41:33]death of one [00:41:34]and the beginning of another. [00:41:36]So sex and death [00:41:37]in religious philosophies [00:41:38]and nonreligious philosophies,

[00:41:40]Have always been inextricably linked. [00:41:43]And I'm just trying [00:41:43]to get us to think about it [00:41:45]a little bit more scientifically, [00:41:47]a little bit

[00:41:47]more biologically, [00:41:48]and recognize that there's [00:41:49]a deep [00:41:50]psychological, biological, hormonal [00:41:54]relationship between these two things.

[00:41:56]sex is a way to transcend death [00:41:59]by continuing one's DNA [00:42:02]into the next generation [00:42:03]sperm donor or whatever. [00:42:05]Okay.

[00:42:05]But in that, just sex with more steps. [00:42:09]But ultimately, what do we mean by sex? [00:42:12]Do we mean the act of sex or do we mean [00:42:15]Sperm entering egg. [00:42:19]It's one. Fact.

[00:42:20]Yeah, that's right. [00:42:24]Yeah. [00:42:25]I'm not saying that the point of sex is [00:42:28]the idea. [00:42:28]That's not even what it says, right?

[00:42:30]Sex is a way to transcend death. [00:42:32]I'm not saying that. [00:42:32]That's the whole entire purpose of sex. [00:42:37]Yeah. All right. [00:42:38]Okay.

[00:42:39]I'm just saying that that is a way [00:42:42]to transcend death, Okay. [00:42:45]Okay, let's tie everything together [00:42:48]and put chapter four to bed. [00:42:50]We started with Mac Miller

[00:42:51]video called Self Care [00:42:53]and the Latin words [00:42:53]that he carved in his coffin. [00:42:55]Memento Mori. Remember death. [00:42:58]I gave the thesis statement

[00:42:59]of chapter four, [00:43:00]which is Philosophy [00:43:02]only begins with a meaningful reflection [00:43:04]on the reality of death. [00:43:06]Confronting the reality of death

[00:43:08]helps us to discover the possibilities [00:43:10]that we have right now [00:43:12]and the opportunities [00:43:12]that we have right now [00:43:14]to make life meaningful.

[00:43:16]Many people in our world today, [00:43:18]especially young people, struggle [00:43:20]with existential anxiety [00:43:22]and depression [00:43:23]that comes from a feeling

[00:43:24]that my life doesn't matter. [00:43:26]Nothing I'm going to do [00:43:27]is going to make any difference. [00:43:29]In this chapter, [00:43:30]I've tried to offer

[00:43:31]three major ways [00:43:32]to overcome that feeling. [00:43:34]First, [00:43:35]the Buddha helps us to see that [00:43:37]life is a series of individual moments.

[00:43:40]If you make this moment [00:43:41]meaningful by alleviating [00:43:43]the suffering of others, [00:43:44]by appreciating the beauty [00:43:46]of this particular moment

[00:43:48]and filling as many moments as we can [00:43:50]with things that matter, [00:43:52]then our life as a whole [00:43:55]will be filled [00:43:55]with meaning and purpose

[00:43:57]and significance of beauty. [00:43:58]Or like Pitbull said: “Feel this moment” [00:44:04]Second InterCourse. [00:44:06]I'm going to die. [00:44:07]But hopefully my kids continue

[00:44:09]to have a positive, [00:44:10]meaningful impact on the world [00:44:12]after I'm gone. [00:44:13]True, it isn't me, but it's not exactly. [00:44:17]Not-me.

[00:44:19]Third: DisCourse. [00:44:21]This is really about the last word [00:44:23]of my definition of philosophy, [00:44:25]which is philosophy [00:44:27]as a mode of discourse

[00:44:28]for the sake of training the intellect [00:44:30]by cultivating a desire [00:44:32]for truth, [00:44:33]wisdom, and justice through inSpiration. [00:44:36]Like many philosophers before me,

[00:44:38]I tried to draw as close [00:44:40]a comparison [00:44:40]as I possibly [00:44:41]could between Inter-Course and Dis-Course [00:44:44]in the same way

[00:44:45]that my genetic material [00:44:47]can continue [00:44:48]to have an impact in the world [00:44:49]after my death. [00:44:51]So too can my words.

[00:44:54]Maybe Marshall Mathers said it [00:44:55]best in his song. [00:44:56]“Sing for the Moment”: [00:44:57]Seize the moment, try to freeze it and own it. [00:45:00]Squeeze it and hold it, ‘cause we consider these minutes golden

[00:45:03]and maybe they'll admit it [00:45:04]when we're gone, [00:45:04]just let our spirits live on through the lyrics [00:45:06]that you hear in our songs. [00:45:07]And we can sing. Sing with me.

[00:45:09]Sing for the year. [00:45:10]Sing for the laughter, [00:45:12]Sing for the tear. [00:45:13]Sing it with me. [00:45:15]It's just for today.

[00:45:16]Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away. [00:45:22]Lastly, as we learn from Derrida, [00:45:25]our words communicate through passageways [00:45:28]of space time [00:45:29]long after our death

[00:45:31]to contexts that we can barely imagine, [00:45:33]and the meaning of our words [00:45:35]change beyond our control. [00:45:37]In the same way [00:45:38]that my kids will have an impact

[00:45:40]that is beyond my control. [00:45:41]Gandhi's words. [00:45:43]Gandhi's words were very inspirational [00:45:45]during his lifetime, [00:45:45]but they continue

[00:45:46]to inSpire people today. [00:45:48]Martin Luther King’s speeches [00:45:50]were very inSpirational [00:45:51]when he was alive, [00:45:52]but they continue

[00:45:53]to inSpire millions of humans today. [00:45:56]Jesus was an inSpirational person [00:45:58]and his words continue to inSpire today. [00:46:01]Socrates was inSpirational [00:46:02]and his words continue to inSpire today.

[00:46:05]Mac Miller was a beautiful soul [00:46:07]and a gifted artist, [00:46:09]and it's sad that he died so young. [00:46:11]But his words continue [00:46:13]to live on

[00:46:13]and his music continues to inSpire [00:46:16]all of these philosophers. [00:46:18]Buddha, [00:46:19]Socrates, Jesus, [00:46:20]Ghandi, Martin Luther King,

[00:46:22]Derrida and Mac Miller [00:46:23]have experienced [00:46:24]the utmost possibility [00:46:26]of the absolute impossibility. [00:46:28]And yet they transcend death

[00:46:32]because their words continue to inSpire [00:46:37]peace out,