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I had once thought that it is ridiculous to suggest that rational thought might possibly be not superior to other forms of thought, until I spent some time as a

I had once thought that it is ridiculous to suggest that rational thought might possibly be not superior to other forms of thought, until I spent some time as a Buddhist, in Buddhist spaces. Then I saw first hand how rationality is indeed used in a euro supremacist way to smack down anything that doesn’t fit in that framework. Everything from mocking Asian Buddhists as “backwards rednecks” for having traditional views on Buddhism, to even claiming that the Buddha only said the non rational, religious things to placate the stupid people and that really he was a rational philosopher. I’ve seen the erosion and closure of traditional Buddhist spaces in the west in favour of rationalised versions that remove the traditional elements. So I can definitely empathise with seeing the promotion of rational thought as white supremacist. That said, mathematics in the west was always rational, so I don’t see how the decolonisation argument is useful here. Mathematics isn’t an ancient religion like Buddhism, it is rationally constructed

throwaway4aday 4y ago
> seeing the promotion of rational thought as white supremacist I think this is conflating "promotion of rational thought" with chauvinism which can be applied to any viewpoint. You could for instance be a Buddhist chauvinist. I think something is deeply wrong with our educational system. Many people seem entirely incapable of distinguishing between the most basic concepts. Is it due to poor vocabulary? Just not having the right words or not understanding the meaning of words when trying to express concepts? Is it lack of life experience? Confusing things like white supremacy or violence with acts that don't even come close to measuring up to the real thing? Or is it, as many presume, more nefarious and the intent is to simply burn everything to the ground out of the misguided belief that it will be easy (or even possible) to build a new utopia in the ashes?
- bowsamic 4y ago
  Well the point is that it’s different to be a chauvinist when you’re the dominant culture in the world, partly due to colonialism but also global capitalism, compared to being a chauvinist for your minority religion. I’ve definitely met Buddhist chauvinists, but they have far less power outside of a few countries I have no idea what the relevance of your second paragraph is

throwaway4aday 4y ago

> seeing the promotion of rational thought as white supremacist I think this is conflating "promotion of rational thought" with chauvinism which can be applied to any viewpoint. You could for instance be a Buddhist chauvinist. I think something is deeply wrong with our educational system. Many people seem entirely incapable of distinguishing between the most basic concepts. Is it due to poor vocabulary? Just not having the right words or not understanding the meaning of words when trying to express concepts? Is it lack of life experience? Confusing things like white supremacy or violence with acts that don't even come close to measuring up to the real thing? Or is it, as many presume, more nefarious and the intent is to simply burn everything to the ground out of the misguided belief that it will be easy (or even possible) to build a new utopia in the ashes?

bowsamic 4y ago
Well the point is that it’s different to be a chauvinist when you’re the dominant culture in the world, partly due to colonialism but also global capitalism, compared to being a chauvinist for your minority religion. I’ve definitely met Buddhist chauvinists, but they have far less power outside of a few countries I have no idea what the relevance of your second paragraph is