Thinking about spirituality

Regular spirituality

A recent comment about spirituality here led to some thinking and that led to some Q&A with Perplexity. This may be of some interest to some people.

Comment: “‘Spirituality’ might usefully be defined as an immaterial concern.” 

No, really, there are things that matter without being matter, and these “immaterialities” would be the concern of spirituality.

My tentative proposal is that we are engaged in "spiritual" pursuits whenever we turn our focus from external, material concerns (fitting brick on brick or microchip on circuit board), to internal, non-material concerns ....

Eco-spirituality

My response: That is a lovely thought. It got me to thinking and searching: https://www.perplexity.ai/search/is-the-concept-of-a-spiritual-iWlGL4qFRX6awkurfOudNw

Q1: Is the concept of a "spiritual pursuit" essentially contested?
A1: The concept of a "spiritual pursuit" does appear to be somewhat contested or at least subject to varying interpretations, though there are some common themes that emerge. ....

Q2: As an atheist and interested in the biology of spirituality, I do not view spirituality through a religious or theistic lens. Instead I look at is as matter of cognitive biology and social behavior arising from evolution. From that point of view "spirituality" and "spiritual pursuits" look very much like they are essentially contested. Is that a defensible argument or belief?
A2: From an evolutionary and cognitive biology perspective, there are indeed arguments that support viewing "spirituality" and "spiritual pursuits" as essentially contested concepts. .... Spirituality may have evolved as an adaptive trait that promoted social cohesion and cooperation in early human groups. .... It can also be seen as fundamentally about ethics and moral behavior. .... Researchers face several challenges in studying spirituality scientifically. There is no universally accepted operational definition of spirituality for research purposes. Spiritual experiences are subjective and difficult to measure objectively. (emphases added)

I wondered if my penchant to apply different points of view to considering various concepts can be argued to be an aspect of spirituality.

Q3: By often trying to look at often contested concepts from differing points of view, e.g., religious and non-religious, could that be considered a spiritual pursuit? It is one of my ways to try to understand what a person means by what they say in terms of contested concepts.

A3: Your approach of examining contested concepts from multiple perspectives, including both religious and non-religious viewpoints, could indeed be considered a form of spiritual pursuit, particularly from a broad, inclusive understanding of spirituality:

Your method aligns with the idea of spirituality as a search for meaning and understanding. Spirituality can be seen as "a search for the sacred" and an effort to find, conserve, or transform what is considered sacred in one's life. By exploring different viewpoints on contested concepts, you are engaging in a form of meaning-making and seeking deeper understanding.

Your approach transcends rigid categorizations, which is often associated with spiritual pursuits. Spirituality is sometimes viewed as transcending critical reasoning and embracing "the big questions" that may not have ultimate answers.

Your method demonstrates qualities often associated with spiritual growth. Openness to different viewpoints and willingness to question assumptions are frequently considered aspects of spiritual development. Self-reflection and examination of one's own beliefs, which your approach encourages, are common elements in many spiritual practices.

In my opinion, that was interesting. Two things.

• One can have interesting conversations with AI, despite AI’s flaws and weaknesses. Sometimes the weakness of it not being human isn’t a weakness if the human has a sense of what that means and can deal with it. All one has to do is ask questions and see where the “conversation” goes.

• Regarding Perplexity’s responses, if its line of reasoning or logic here is basically defensible, and it seems to be, then my brand of secular spirituality arguably includes engaging with things that transcend critical reasoning and embracing questions that may not have ultimate answers, i.e., essentially contested concepts. 

I like trees spirituality

Assessing threats to democracy: The mindset factor

Sometimes I get criticized for being irrationally alarmist or hyperbolic for using labels that some people feel to be too inflammatory irrational and/or just plain crackpot under current circumstances in American society and politics. Labels like kleptocratic autocracy, Christian Taliban, and Christian theocracy, strike some people as at least ludicrous because of a perceived implausibility of such bad things actually coming to pass in American government and politics. 

I hear and understand the criticisms. But that has not changed the intensity of personal fear about what could happen to our democracy. My critics are not seeing and feeling what I see and feel. Maybe I am wrong and my critics are right, but it does not feel that way.

Whaddabout how MAGA feels about things?

One way to think about the nature and severity of any threat to American democracy and civil liberties is to consider how rank and file MAGA people feel about various threats, including threats to democracy. Common feelings and complaints from the MAGA rank and file include:

• anxiety about rapid social and cultural shifts they perceive as threatening traditional values, e.g., fears about immigration, changing demographics, LGBTQ+ rights and perceived severe attacks on religious liberty, often amounting to religious persecution, 

• resentment of condescending liberal elites and institutions they see corrupt, a mainstream media perceived as biased against conservatives, anti-American liberal universities and academia and nefarious deep state government bureaucrats who work against conservative interests,

• economic anxiety over socialism and expansion of welfare programs, and resentments over perceived unfair advantages given to minorities and immigrants, and 

• serious threats to democracy from Democrats who (i) engage in alleged voter fraud and election manipulation, and (ii) use baseless legal actions against Trump as a form of election interference, and an attempt to disqualify or block Trump from running for office.

Those fears and resentments are often amplified by authoritarian radical right media and dark free speech from authoritarian elites to create a sense of urgency and existential threat. Although these concerns are commonly expressed, they often do not align very well or at all with factual realities or broader societal trends. This group constitutes about half of adult Americans.

Whaddabout how Germaine feels about things? The missing mindset factor

Well, if about half of adult Americans feel urgent existential authoritarian threats allegedly from Democrats, shady deep state bureaucrats and other bad people, why can’t a person feel even more threatened by Trump and MAGA? If Germaine is a crackpot or alarmist idiot, what does that make the MAGA rank and file? The majority of the evidence indicates that Trump and the GOP are fundamentally authoritarian. For example:

Q: Is it more accurate to call Trump and the modern GOP radical right authoritarian or pro-democracy conservative?

A: It appears more accurate to characterize Trump and the modern Republican Party as radical right authoritarian rather than pro-democracy conservative. The GOP has undergone a decades-long shift away from traditional conservative principles toward authoritarianism. This transformation predates Trump but accelerated under his influence. The party has embraced an agenda that undermines democratic norms and institutions, including blocking investigations into the January 6th attack on the capitol, promoting false claims of election fraud, and making it easier to tamper with vote counting processes.

Solidly authoritarian is how I see Trump, the GOP and the MAGA movement. In my firm opinion, the power and social and political infrastructure of American radical right authoritarianism is already a deadly serious threat. That is a part of why I feel the situation is a lot worse than my critics assert.

To be fair and balanced, the Democrats and liberalism arguably are significantly more pro-democracy than MAGA. One can argue the level of threat is not the same from the two sides because that is what most of the evidence I am aware of indicates. 

The mindset factor

What are the difference between me and my critics? Based on how I understand their criticisms, the main difference appears to be the weight given to the authoritarian mental state. I weigh it pretty heavily. Authoritarianism eroding democracy is a lot like water wearing down rocks that get in the way, even if it takes a very long time. I’ve called the situation something like a one-way ratchet to a corrupt authoritarian hell. 

From what I can tell, the arguments my critics level at my alleged alarmism/crackpottery put most weight on non-mental factors. They look at the long history of stable, American democracy (arguably partly false), solid democratic institutions, and national prosperity. From that point of view they conclude it is very unlikely that anything close to true authoritarianism is possible, despite Trump, the GOP, the supreme court, and the rest of the MAGA wealth and power movement. The “it can’t happen here” arguments assert that, e.g., (i) the US is not Weimar Germany, or the Taliban in Afghanistan, (ii) there is not the economic stress of the Great Depression, or (iii) a small minority of elite authoritarian activists cannot thwart majority pro-democracy public opinion. Some of that is true, i and ii, but all of it seems to overlook or downplay the elite authoritarian mindset.[1] 

I seem to weigh the elite authoritarian mindset factor more heavily than other factors like democratic institutional stability and national prosperity. Like Trump and his MAGA movement, Project 2025 is more authoritarian than democratic. Determined authoritarians know how to subvert a democracy. 

Authoritarians target and exploit vulnerabilities in democratic systems, e.g., social susceptibility to deceit and manipulation by dark free speech, government corrupted by special interest money, a collapsing rule of law for rich and powerful elites and businesses, etc. What we do not know is how far Trump, the GOP and MAGA will descend into corrupt authoritarianism compared to monsters like Hitler and Stalin. But if his mindset based on his rhetoric and past behavior are reliable evidence, Trump intends to go pretty deep if he gets the power to try.

None of this is likely to change any minds. But, at least my reasoning should be clear.

Footnote:

1. Perplexity:

Q: In comparing various events in history, e.g., Trump’s 1/6 coup attempt vs Hitler’s 1923 putsch in Munich, how much weight is given to assessing mindsets, e.g., authoritarian vs democratic, to assess differences vs similarities?

A: Several factors are considered to assess similarities and differences, with the underlying mindsets and ideologies playing a significant role: 

Ideological Underpinnings: The authoritarian vs. democratic mindset is a crucial factor in these comparisons. Both events involved leaders with authoritarian tendencies attempting to subvert democratic processes.

Challenges to Democracy: The 2024 Election in Focus

A Hightly Reputable Site:

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/public-religion-research-institute-prri/

Features some stunning data, such as:

• Seven in ten Americans (70%) believe things in the country are going in the wrong direction, including most Republicans (94%) and independents (70%), compared with 41% of Democrats. 
• While a majority of Americans (54%) also believe that things in their home state are going in the wrong direction, 56% of Americans believe things in their local communities are going in the right direction.

• Republicans (68%) are more likely than independents (48%) and Democrats (31%) to say that American culture and way of life has mostly changed for the worse since the 1950s. 
• White Christian groups and Hispanic Protestants are the most likely to say American culture and way of life has changed for the worse since the 1950s. 
• More than six in ten Americans rate increasing costs of housing and everyday expenses as a critical issue to their vote in November.
• Among Republicans, abortion has declined as a critically important issue since the last presidential election, from 49% in 2020 to 29% in 2024. Abortion has increased in salience among Democrats, from 35% in 2020 to 55% in 2024. 
• Since the last presidential election, immigration has become far more salient for Republicans, with the percentage considering it a critical issue rising from 38% in 2020 to 71% in 2024. While 36% of Democrats viewed immigration as a critical issue in 2020, that figure drops to 24% today. However, immigration has risen in significance for independents, from 29% in 2020 to 42% in 2024. 
• Seventy-two percent of Americans say they are worried about not having enough money to retire, while more than six in ten say they are worried about being unable to afford health care (65%), housing (64%), everyday expenses such as groceries or gas (61%), or getting a job that pays a living wage (59%). 
• Three-quarters of voters (75%) who say that immigration is a critical issue prefer Trump over Harris (23%).  
• Voters who say that jobs and unemployment are a critical issue prefer Trump (58%) over Harris (41%); similarly, voters who prioritize increasing costs of housing and everyday expenses slightly prefer Trump instead of Harris (53% vs. 45%). 

There is a LOT of stuff to consume in the following link, but I just wanted to give a sampling:

https://www.prri.org/research/challenges-to-democracy-the-2024-election-in-focus-findings-from-the-2024-american-values-survey/

Perhaps the most striking detail was this one:

The American public is evenly divided about whether there is a real danger that Trump will use the presidency to become a dictator (49% agree vs. 48% disagree). Only 11% of Republicans agree with the statement, and 89% disagree. Among Democrats, 88% agree with the statement that Trump intends to become a dictator and 12% disagree. Independents are divided on this question (48% agree vs. 50% disagree). 

Simple question: Have the Dems missed the boat on the issues of immigration and the economy by focusing too much of their messaging on abortion and the thread to Democracy? 

Confronting our worst instincts...

One of my very favorites, presidential historian Jon Meacham, was on Morning Joe this morning.  What a clear thinker and articulate speaker. 

Meacham ended his segment with a stark comment about something I often wonder about:

“So, the choice cannot be clearer. … If in fact [Trump] wins, maybe this is who we are.  And maybe that's the complicated terrible reality that we’re gonna have to confront.”

Yes.  Exactly.  November 5th (and the days that follow until the votes are all counted) will be a defining moment; it will be a solid indicator of who we now are.

Me?  I’m afraid of who we are and what we’ve become.  What better testament can I point to than the violence and viciousness of our entertainment, the audacity of our bald-faced lies, and the denial of civility?

What do you think?  Is Trump who we’ve (as an American society) become?  Make your case.

(by PrimalSoup)