God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)
One of the flaws of Greek philosophy is the contention that everything has two realities. There is the spiritual reality, seen by the Greeks as good, and the physical reality, seen by the Greeks as bad. There was an ideal known as “duckness” and all ducks could be compared with it, and all of them found wanting. Because of this, it really didn’t matter what one did to or with matter, since the physical activity could not mar the ideal reality. Some folks, seeing that this wasn’t right, reversed it. The way one achieved that ideal reality was by rejecting the physical, or certain parts of the physical, whether sex, dancing, going to movies, listening to music, etc.
Others reversed the bias. What is physical is good, what is not physical has no value. We can’t manage to do away with it, but religion has no place in the “real” and “secular” world. Some insist that feelings are really all that matter. Some think turning the old bias upside down fixes things, so now instead of debasing all the none-white, non-males, non-Western, we condemn all that is white, male, and Western. Women are told that we must have a career because being a housewife isn’t good enough. We must seek power, we’re told, we must obtain our rightful places in society.
I think the place in myself where I suffer from this most is in with feelings v thinkings. I prefer to make decisions based on thoughts – to make rational choices. I know people whose entire lives seem to be wrapped up in feelings. It’s all about being happy. It’s all about “loving.” It’s all about what your heart tells you. There is no time for thought, no need for thought, and those who are thinkers are dropped down to a lesser life form who might be pitied but is more often ridiculed and judged. I find it difficult not to reciprocate, not to reject “feelings” because they are shoved down my throat by those who hold feelings to be the sole valuable ruler of our lives.
What this all means for me is that I need to reject dualism while not being dualistic. Philosophically speaking, I have to reject false dichotomies. It’s not about choosing between this and that, between feelings and thoughts, between white and non-white, between men and women. It is about being whole and true.
Others reversed the bias. What is physical is good, what is not physical has no value. We can’t manage to do away with it, but religion has no place in the “real” and “secular” world. Some insist that feelings are really all that matter. Some think turning the old bias upside down fixes things, so now instead of debasing all the none-white, non-males, non-Western, we condemn all that is white, male, and Western. Women are told that we must have a career because being a housewife isn’t good enough. We must seek power, we’re told, we must obtain our rightful places in society.
I think the place in myself where I suffer from this most is in with feelings v thinkings. I prefer to make decisions based on thoughts – to make rational choices. I know people whose entire lives seem to be wrapped up in feelings. It’s all about being happy. It’s all about “loving.” It’s all about what your heart tells you. There is no time for thought, no need for thought, and those who are thinkers are dropped down to a lesser life form who might be pitied but is more often ridiculed and judged. I find it difficult not to reciprocate, not to reject “feelings” because they are shoved down my throat by those who hold feelings to be the sole valuable ruler of our lives.
What this all means for me is that I need to reject dualism while not being dualistic. Philosophically speaking, I have to reject false dichotomies. It’s not about choosing between this and that, between feelings and thoughts, between white and non-white, between men and women. It is about being whole and true.
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