Internet Sacred Text Archive • Hacker News Board

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#11

Post by devinjon » Sat, Jan 06, 2024, 2:32 PM UTC

keiferski wrote: post #7

stonlyb wrote: post #4

I've been curious lately about the existence of any religion, mythology, folklore, etc that capture something closer to the current edges of modern physics and astrology. Basic assumption is that most/all are based on dated observations of seasons, planets, stars, etc -- things that were once mysteries in the mechanical universe. Are there any that touch on quantum weirdness or more recent astrophysics (black holes,…

Check out Alfred North Whitehead, process philosophy, and some of the thinkers that have been influenced by him. They incorporate evolution and change much more than basically any religious thinker from prior eras. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_theology

Except maybe Heraclitus and Lao Tzu.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraclitus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#12

Post by keiferski » Sat, Jan 06, 2024, 2:36 PM UTC

devinjon wrote: post #11

keiferski wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Check out Alfred North Whitehead, process philosophy, and some of the thinkers that have been influenced by him. They incorporate evolution and change much more than basically any religious thinker from prior eras. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_North_Whitehead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_theology

Except maybe Heraclitus and Lao Tzu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraclitus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi

Very little to do with Whitehead’s system other than being broadly “process” oriented.

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#13

Post by JeffSnazz » Sat, Jan 06, 2024, 2:40 PM UTC

stonlyb wrote: post #4

I've been curious lately about the existence of any religion, mythology, folklore, etc that capture something closer to the current edges of modern physics and astrology. Basic assumption is that most/all are based on dated observations of seasons, planets, stars, etc -- things that were once mysteries in the mechanical universe. Are there any that touch on quantum weirdness or more recent astrophysics (black holes,…

I'd assume unverifiable but narratively meaningful theories like multiverse theories, "the universe is a hologram", etc fill that role nicely. Sci-fi is full of them. "New Age" beliefs are what you're looking for at face value, of course.

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#14

Post by WarOnPrivacy » Sat, Jan 06, 2024, 2:43 PM UTC

They have text and illustrations of The Secret Teachings of All Ages but the images are B&W scans. https://sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/index.htm

The large color illustrations are why I have a copy of the book https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%22the+secret+teachings+of+all+age...

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#15

Post by rapjr9 » Sat, Jan 06, 2024, 2:53 PM UTC

You can't download an entire work, you can only view HTML pages of chapters. You can indeed read the texts online but the site seems designed to prevent downloading an entire text, try Project Gutenberg or the Internet Archive first if you want a local copy.

"Q: Why all the short files? I want to download the entire book in one file! A: Sorry. The short files are for technical reasons which greatly reduce the cost of hosting the site. Newer books typically have a one-file text-only version, which is optimized for screen reader software. Look for the links on the index pages that say 'Text'"

There is no text file for the I-Ching on sacred-texts, if you want to download it here's the archive.org versions:

https://archive.org/details/I-Ching

Here's the James Legge translation of the Tao Tey King in one text file:

https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/216/pg216.txt

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#16

Post by mistrial9 » Sat, Jan 06, 2024, 3:09 PM UTC

JeffSnazz wrote: post #13

stonlyb wrote: post #4

I've been curious lately about the existence of any religion, mythology, folklore, etc that capture something closer to the current edges of modern physics and astrology. Basic assumption is that most/all are based on dated observations of seasons, planets, stars, etc -- things that were once mysteries in the mechanical universe. Are there any that touch on quantum weirdness or more recent astrophysics (black holes,…

I'd assume unverifiable but narratively meaningful theories like multiverse theories, "the universe is a hologram", etc fill that role nicely. Sci-fi is full of them. "New Age" beliefs are what you're looking for at face value, of course.

some have said - since we are ultimately, just humans.. inquiry has to fit what a human is able to see-hear-think etc.. so human-centered inquiry took over the public process, over time. Humans are dangerous predators so, not being attacked by other humans while doing whatever is a non-trivial aspect of growth over time.

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#17

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jan 06, 2024, 3:09 PM UTC

stonlyb wrote: post #4

I've been curious lately about the existence of any religion, mythology, folklore, etc that capture something closer to the current edges of modern physics and astrology. Basic assumption is that most/all are based on dated observations of seasons, planets, stars, etc -- things that were once mysteries in the mechanical universe. Are there any that touch on quantum weirdness or more recent astrophysics (black holes,…

[deleted]

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#18

Post by devinjon » Sat, Jan 06, 2024, 3:10 PM UTC

keiferski wrote: post #12

devinjon wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except maybe Heraclitus and Lao Tzu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraclitus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi

Very little to do with Whitehead’s system other than being broadly “process” oriented.

Okay, Heraclitus might be a stretch, I'll give you that. But I do recommend giving the Tao Te Ching a read with Whitehead in mind. :)

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#19

Post by Podgajski » Sat, Jan 06, 2024, 3:19 PM UTC

keiferski wrote: post #12

devinjon wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except maybe Heraclitus and Lao Tzu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraclitus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi

Very little to do with Whitehead’s system other than being broadly “process” oriented.

“process philosophy posits transient occasions of change or becoming as the only fundamental things of the ordinary everyday real world.”

I think you need to read more Daoist writings! It possesses that it is the transformation of yin into yang and back that creates everything in the world.

https://www.heraldopenaccess.us/openaccess/yin-yang-a-method...

The discovery that the motion of matter is not the result of external dynamics, but the result of the action of things themselves. The mutual movement, growth and transformation of yin and yang in natural things contribute to the process of formation, development and decay. All things in nature, from the large celestial universe to microscopic particles and human cell, are in constant motion in their own yin and yang. This uniform law is the absolute law of motion of the universe as a whole.

And

https://www.openhorizons.org/daoism-and-process-the-daoist-s...

Re: Internet Sacred Text Archive

#20

Post by nprateem » Sat, Jan 06, 2024, 3:22 PM UTC

Kind of related to what I was mentioning on the Godel thread, but IMO the Kundalini (or whatever you call it) experience is the "grand unifying theory" of religion and mythology (although it's not actually a theory, but an experience).

It provides an explanation for where religions may have come from, beyond our typically pompous attitude that earlier generations of people were superstitious and stupid. Instead, it suggests that the founders of religions experienced dramatic shifts in consciousness which they were trying to explain in the language of the day (and which, since their followers rarely had such experiences themselves, were subsequently misinterpreted).