Month: June 2020
-
The Incompleteness Of Something Like The Genetic Fallacy: On The Importance Of ‘Cleaning Up’
In philosophy, there is something called “the genetic fallacy.” It holds that it is illegitimate to consider the merits of an argument based partially or exclusively on the details of the arguer’s background. One should assess the argument from–to use John Rawls’ term–behind a “veil of ignorance.” To take an extreme example: to assess Ted…
-
Isn’t Buddhism About Not Having Desires?
After a recent podcast interview, my interlocutor, with whom I was discussing the prevalence of burnout among medical residents, said, “Isn’t Buddhism about not having desires?” “No,” I replied, “it isn’t.” A man loves a woman and she loves him. However, circumstances are such that they can’t be together. The man wrote to me: “I…
-
My Sadness For Saccaka–And For Us
Right after having finished reading an early Buddhist text called “The Greater Discourse to Saccaka” (MN 36) for the first time, I felt moved and sad at once. I want to tell you why. In this sutra, Saccaka, someone Ananda describes as “‘a debater and a clever speaker regarded by many as a saint’” has…
-
The Noble Search And The Ignoble Search
The Buddha comes to brahmin Ranmaka’s hermitage where he finds some mendicants (bhikkus) ready to hear his discourse. It’s called “The Noble Search” (MD 26). Listen, he tells them, for there are two kinds of searches: one is noble, the other ignoble. “And what is the ignoble search? Here someone being himself subject to birth…
-
Against Setting Boundaries In Relationships
Quite often we hear that it’s good to “set up boundaries” between ourselves and others. More recently, boundary-setting has been regarded as a kind of “self-care.” This idiom–to wit, boundary-setting–comes from a therapeutic setting and has since spread into facilitation talk, coaching talk, and has, more generally, become a fairly standard piece of relationship advice.…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 