tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post3511251691128248333..comments2023-11-22T01:14:54.298-08:00Comments on amor mundi: Rebel Rebel: Death Denialism As Utopian PoliticsDale Carricohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02811055279887722298noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-5833852694015547002011-08-22T12:52:46.092-07:002011-08-22T12:52:46.092-07:00And what, really, after all, is more revolutionary...And what, really, after all, is more revolutionary and avant-garde than being skeeeeeered to diiiieee!!!!Dale Carricohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02811055279887722298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5956838.post-49503107906116466112011-08-22T12:36:06.314-07:002011-08-22T12:36:06.314-07:00> > considerable philosophical and psycholog...> > considerable philosophical and psychological advantages<br />> > stem from rejecting the inevitability of the grave.<br />><br />> Are there comparable advantages that stem from proposals to square<br />> the circle or invent a perpetual motion machine, pray tell?<br /><br />You know, people (particularly the transhumanists! the "brights")<br />criticize the established churches for preying on fear and superstition<br />by using the carrot of heaven and the stick of hell (both of<br />which reject the "inevitability of the grave") to bamboozle<br />the irrational herd.<br /><br />But every penny-ante guru seems to make the same claim, in some<br />form or other. Deepak Chopra? -- meditate hard enough and your<br />cosmic consciousness can control the quantum field of your<br />body and stop aging. The Scientologists? -- your thetan is<br />eternal, and you'd better believe your contract with the Sea Org<br />is for a billion years.<br /><br />35 yeas ago I briefly got into something called "Re-evaluation<br />Co-Counseling", a sort of amateur psychotherapy (like Scientology,<br />but without the E-meter and without the $$$ courses -- you<br />and a friend trade off on being the "therapist" and the<br />"patient"). One of the things that eventually turned me off<br />(apart from the really uncool idea of stripping your psyche bare<br />to an amateur -- particularly a friend) is that apparently<br />Harvey Jackins, the inventor of the thing, had a crackpot notion<br />(not unlike the Scientologists') that if you got rid of all<br />your hang-ups (what the Scientologists call -- or used to call,<br />at least -- "engrams") you can greatly extend your lifespan --<br />like, to 150 years. Yeah, right.jimfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04975754342950063440noreply@blogger.com