Table Of ContentA Minority Interest - Copyright © 2022 by Martin Butler.
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By Martin Butler
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Table of Contents
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS 4
PREFACE 1
INTRODUCTION 2
UNDERSTANDING 2
A MINORITY INTEREST 3
THE AXIOMS 5
ONE - LIFE IS A SELF-OPTIMIZING MACHINE 5
TWO - WE ARE SURVIVAL MACHINES 7
THREE - EMOTIONS MEASURE SURVIVAL STATUS 9
FOUR - LIFE IS DECAY 11
FIVE - NATURE IS INDIFFERENT AND AMORAL 13
SIX - NO FREE-WILL 15
SEVEN - EXISTENCE HAS NO PURPOSE OR MEANING. 17
EIGHT - NO SELF 19
NINE - NO TRUTH 22
TEN - THERE IS EXPERIENCE 24
THE EMOTIONS 28
EMOTIONS ARE REAL 28
SURVEYING THE EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE 29
SURVIVAL AND DESIRE 32
POWER 34
PLEASURE AND PAIN 37
EMOTIONS AND THE BODY 40
PASSIVITY 42
LOVE AND HATE 43
ANGER 46
ENVY 47
HOPE AND FEAR 49
THE FOLLY OF HOPE 50
SELF-HATRED 52
SHAME 52
GUILT AND REMORSE 53
AMBITION 54
IMMATURE NIHILISM 56
PARADISE LOST 57
THE PLEASURES OF CRUELTY 59
THE BODY HATERS 61
THE MALE HUMAN ANIMAL 62
POWER GAMES 64
THE OPTIMISTIC PESSIMIST 65
THOUGHT 68
THE STRANGE CASE OF THE HUMAN MIND 68
THE LIMITS OF KNOWLEDGE 70
SCIENCE - ANY FLAVOR YOU WANT 72
POSITIVE THINKING SUCKS 74
THE ABYSS OF REASON 76
STUPID REALISTS 79
THE MIND BUBBLE 80
THE GREAT ANTI-TRUTH 82
THE ILLUSION OF TRUTH 84
THE SANDBOX 85
LIFE DYNAMICS 87
TIME: THE GREAT DESTROYER 87
THE HUMAN FARMYARD 88
HAPPY EVER AFTER STORIES 91
HAPPILY UNSTABLE 92
YOU - SOMETHING OR NOTHING 94
ORDER IS DEATH 97
FREE-WILL AND UNCAUSED EFFECTS 100
THE JOY OF SELFISHNESS 102
ANTI-REALITY 103
THE ANTI-REALITIES 104
REALITY 107
GRATEFUL FOOLS AND FRIGHTENED MICE 109
OUR NEGLECTED REALITY 110
THE PARALLEL UNIVERSE 112
WE ARE AWAKE - LET'S PLAY 114
THE MECHANICS OF BEAUTY 115
THE GREAT EXPERIMENT 117
THE DUALITY OF NON-DUALITY 119
THE UNSOCIAL ANIMAL 121
SOCIAL DISCOURSE IF EXHAUSTING 122
THE PHONY 124
NO HAPPY ENDINGS 127
SOCIAL PRESSURE AND EMBARRASSMENT 129
HATRED AND VIOLENCE UBIQUITY 131
PRACTICES 133
BECOMING SATISFIED WITH OUR DISSATISFACTION 133
THE PLEASURE OF UNDERSTANDING PAIN 135
BE KIND TO YOURSELF 137
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH WHAT YOU LOVE 139
DANCING LEAVES 140
THE ART OF SUBTLETY 142
WORK AGAINST LIFE 142
THE GOD EXERCISE 143
YOUR LATEST TRICK 145
THE JOY OF DISDAIN 146
DON'T MENTION DEATH 149
BACK TO THE PARTICULAR 152
PSYCHOLOGICAL OBESITY 157
BE KIND TO YOURSELF 159
THE HEART OF UNDERSTANDING 160
EMOTIONS 163
PLEASURE 163
PAIN 164
IMPLICATIONS 165
TWO HANDS 165
APHORISMS 168
WITHOUT COURAGE - NOTHING 168
MISTAKES ALL THE WAY 168
EMPTINESS 169
SILENCE 170
WIERDO 171
POLITE COMPANY 172
GOOD FORTUNE 172
VIOLENCE 173
THE OPTIMIST 174
NEW AGE FOLK 175
GRATIFICATION 175
DON'T FIX - FEEL 176
NO CHANGE 177
PROCREATION 177
GOOD TIMES 178
DENIAL 179
CRAVING FREEDOM 180
HOPE 180
HOPELESSNESS 181
STRIVING 181
CONTROL 181
AMBITION 182
THE LIE 183
THE NARCISSIST 184
SECRET JOY 185
MARTIN BUTLER 186
A Minority Interest
Preface
This is not a pleasant book. There are no happy endings, no
encouraging stories, no light entertainment. As far as possible I have
tried to represent reality as it is, rather than indulge in the fairy tales that
constitute most spiritual teachings and religions. If you have an appetite
for such a hard look at life, then there should be much that is of interest
here, if you have no such appetite then run for the hills and avoid this
book at all costs.
A book of this nature will only appeal to a very small minority of
people. If I had wanted a broad uptake, I would have told you that you
have a unique purpose in the universe, that God loves you, that on death
you will become one with the one true self, and so on. So, against my
egotistical desire for a large audience, I have written a book that will be
of interest to almost no one. A thing like this is like giving birth; you
just have to get it out.
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A Minority Interest
Introduction
Understanding
It’s highly likely that you understand many things about the world
and nothing about yourself. When I say you understand things about the
world, I am of course referring to things that contribute to your
wellbeing and survival; very few people have interests that are not
linked in some way to these things. If, however you are the kind of
person who wants to understand your own nature and an uncensored
view of the nature of our existence, then there is a good chance that you
will get something from this book. But as the title indicates, an
understanding of our nature and that of our existence is a minority
interest since such understanding contributes almost nothing to your
survival prospects. You will probably not earn more, become more
attractive, become more optimistic, improve your health; but oddly
enough you may become happier in a perverse sort of way.
Understanding is the key to awakening and seeing our life as it is.
Unfortunately, this is far less glamorous than exotic sounding words
such as enlightenment, moksha, samadhi, non-duality, cosmic
consciousness, and the like. While this spiritual pornography will
always attract millions of people, the pursuit of understanding will
attract only a small fraction of this number. Nonetheless it is
understanding that you will find in this book, and you may eventually
come to see that there is nothing so powerful as understanding your
nature and the reality of the world around you.
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A Minority Interest
A Minority Interest
Just consider for a moment the life of most people. Because they are
driven by the survival drive their attention and interests are almost
wholly focused on money, acquisition of resources such as shelter,
transport, food, a partner, and so on. There is very little appetite for
gaining an understanding of the world or themselves. As such most
people fear death, exhaust themselves pursuing futile ambitions, are
subject to the vagaries of fortune, and live the life of a dog waiting for
scraps from the table. The life of the unthinking majority is one of
hidden unhappiness and suffering while putting on a smile for
Facebook. There is nothing that can be done for these people, and they
are best treated like children.
The reassuring stories that many people tell themselves have no
place in the investigation into our nature and that of the world. Reality
is frightening and without refuge. The fact there is no absolute morality,
justice, beauty, truth, purpose, meaning, or reality, is too much for most
to bear, which is why they seek refuge in dogma and ignorance. This is
not a judgmental statement; we all have a limit to what we can bear.
The pursuit of understanding will always be a minority interest; and
a very small minority at that. The understanding we seek is not
primarily concerned with improving our survival prospects, although it
may have some side effects to that effect. We want understanding for its
own sake because something within us is not satisfied with ignorance.
It’s very hard to say why we crave understanding, but there is power in
understanding and if Nietzsche and Spinoza are to be believed the
whole of existence is an expression of and a seeking after power.
The power the masses seek is always an external power, fame,
money, status, dominance, sensual pleasures. The minority interest is
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