Kuba:
RICHARD: If the impact of pure consciousness experiences (PCE’s) be not sufficiently enticing – an altruistic ‘self’-immolation in toto is not, of course, only for the benefit of other bodies – then maybe a goodly dose of back-pressure may provide the requisite incentive.
Kuba: Just to clarify the above Vineeto, I was surprised when I read over it twice to notice that Richard wrote “an altruistic ‘self’-immolation in toto is not, of course, only for the benefit of other bodies”. Is this to say that just as the benefit for ‘me’ is the ending of ‘my’ burden, the benefit to all those other ‘I’s is bringing closer the ending of ‘their’ burden?
If I am understanding this correctly this does indeed stir something strong in ‘me’. Because ‘I’ was always the one that let’s say “had a shit time” when I was younger – as in ‘I’ remember the extent of the horrible suffering that ‘I’ experienced, from which seemingly there was no way out but only to suffer more. Eventually with the assistance of the actualism method ‘I’ managed to drag ‘myself’ out but ‘I’ have always maintained a very keen and sensitive awareness of just the extent of how much it is possible to suffer.
So can ‘I’ who knows the extent of the possible suffering for ‘me’ bring about ‘my’ demise by keenly feeling that the end of ‘my’ burden is also the possibility of the end of ‘their’ burden?
Hi Kuba,
No.
Altruism means “behaviour by an animal that is not beneficial to or may be harmful to itself but that benefits others of its species.” (©Merriam-Webster).
You took the quote out of context and separated the words within dashes as if they were a statement in themselves. If you read the sentence without the words in dashes, or parenthesis, so to speak, then you can see that Richard is saying that if the benefits of living in, a what amounts to a 24/7 PCE, are not enough enticement then “a goodly dose of back-pressure” will provide the missing intent, i.e. “seeing – actually seeing – the human condition stripped-naked as it parades itself across the screen for those with the eyes to see … and thus knowing that, essentially, there too goes oneself, no matter how diminished”. [Emphases added]
Just for emphasis, Peter expressed the same sentiment in a different way –
‘Peter’: What I didn’t find at all subtle, and what really got me off my bum, is the fact that each and every human being is not only socially programmed to remain faithful to Humanity but that each and every human being is genetically encoded with the instinctual passions of fear, aggression, nurture and desire. Understanding this was of such significance to me that I put it this way on the very first page of my journal –
[Peter]: … ‘Indeed, that has been the innate drive in my life: to make sense of this mad world that I found myself living in. The insanity of endless wars, conflict, arguments, sadness, despair, failed hopes and dreams seems endemic. And worse still, as I gradually forced myself to admit, I was as mad, and as bad, as everyone else.’ (Peter’s Journal, Foreword)
Cheers Vineeto