Received: from ELI.CS.YALE.EDU by NEBULA.SYSTEMSZ.CS.YALE.EDU via SMTP; Tue, 9 Nov 1993 23:33:59 -0500 Received: from YALEVM.YCC.YALE.EDU by eli.CS.YALE.EDU via SMTP; Tue, 9 Nov 1993 23:33:46 -0500 Message-Id: <199311100433.AA00360@eli.CS.YALE.EDU> Received: from CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU by YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu (IBM VM SMTP V2R2) with BSMTP id 8470; Tue, 09 Nov 93 23:33:33 EST Received: from CUVMB.COLUMBIA.EDU by CUVMB.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU (Mailer R2.07) with BSMTP id 8151; Tue, 09 Nov 93 23:33:23 EDT Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1993 23:32:17 -0500 Reply-To: Logical Language Group Sender: Lojban list From: Logical Language Group Subject: Re: TECH: re'enai and the emotion classifiers (long) X-To: protin@usl.com X-Cc: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: Erik Rauch Status: RO X-Status: X-From-Space-Date: Tue Nov 9 18:32:17 1993 X-From-Space-Address: @YaleVM.YCC.YALE.EDU:LOJBAN@CUVMB.BITNET AP> While this may be the most frequent misunderstanding of the term, AP> I reject the cultural bias and denounce the ignorance that this AP> "definition" embodies. AP> AP> Atheism is the religious belief that God does not exist. I hate to say it, but this definition is culturally biased in exactly the same way mine was. The belief that "God" does not exist PRESUMES soem definition of God, and the definition that is generally intended is that of the Judeo- Christian god, at least when the term is used by those brought up under Judeo-Christian traditions. My ramblings on various subjects were attempting to define the terms experientially, because dictionary definitions are both culturally biased, and INACCURATE because they do not reflect the interaction between the user's concepts of spirit and religion. It happens that I accept your definitions of spirituality, and I do not by any means intend to suggest that all spirituality must be defined in terms of any particular religious tradition. My claim is that YOUR concept of spirituality will be culturally biased by YOUR concept of the supernatural, i.e. of the subject of spiritual feelings. I claimed further that that concept of the subject of spirituality is strongly constrained by our cultural traditions and upbringing. It is NOT clear to me that all people would find the feelings one gets on an ancient battlefield, in a haunted house, or related to premonitions, would be idnetified as spiritual by all people. John Cowan, for example just posted that he is "tone-deaf" to spiritual feelings. THis would apparently suggest that he either has never felt feelings like you suggest are spiritual, or that he has never identified them as spritual. presumably he would have classed them as something else. lojbab